American crypto investors are preparing to “promote” their candidate to Congress

Crypto enthusiasts are planning to get their candidate into Congress to solve problems in the digital currency market. Serious crypto investors have high hopes for the Democratic Party's first congressional candidate, 37-year-old Brian Forde.

Forde's experience in the cryptocurrency business has attracted the attention of Pete Briger of Fortress Investment Group, Brad Burnham of Union Square Ventures, investor Mike Novogratz and famous twin millionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklowss, who founded the Cryptocurrency Exchange Gemini. «Брайан понимает силу растущих технологий и способы их формирования, которые окажут положительное влияние на людей и организации», - говорит Тайлер Уинкловсс. Bitcoin's recent slide has only intensified the cryptocurrency industry's desire for an ally in Congress.

Forde's reputation is so clean that many investors chose to put cryptocurrency into Forde's campaign rather than simply write a check the old-fashioned way. According to the Federal Election Commission, Forde has already raised more digital currency than all previous congressional candidates combined, including incumbent Congresswoman Mimi Walters. This is quite remarkable, since Forde's campaign has only lasted six months.

  There are many reasons why Forde's entry into Congress is so necessary for crypto market players. The first task they want to entrust to Forde is solving the issue of legislative regulation. As the cryptocurrency market has grown to be worth $800 billion, government officials have begun to pay increased attention to it. "By and large, the government has been comfortable with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency," says Justin Slaughter, a former chief assistant at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, "partly because it's so new, partly because a lot of people don't understand it yet."

 In 2005, while a Peace Corps volunteer in Nicaragua, Forde co-founded Llamadas SA, a low-cost Internet telephony service provider that used Voice over Internet Protocol and then the new технологию. “The technology wasn't legal or illegal, it was just new. So the main challenge was for the government to get it right as they were regulating VoIP.”

Forde sees a similar situation with the US government's attitude toward cryptocurrency. “We must protect consumer rights and safety.. My concern is that by imposing strict regulations on startups, so many resources will be devoted to compliance that companies will have nothing left to innovate.”

Those like Forde and his supporters who want to “nurture” the nascent crypto industry in the United States see two main obstacles. The first is the ignorance of the government. Jerry Brito, chief executive of Coin Center Inc., notes: “The good news is that government awareness of digital currency has improved significantly, but officials still do not understand how Bitcoin works.”

The second obstacle is the fragmented US regulatory structure that controls the cryptocurrency market. "We have a regulatory framework," says Slaughter, a former CFTC aide. “At the same time, there is no consistency between companies. Most countries have a single market regulator, but we have a clear separation between futures and equity regulators.”

If Forde joins Congress, he will be able to convey to the government the essence of the problems and their importance. “We have new technologies that will have a great impact on our lives and the economy, but there are no people in Congress who understand this,” says Forde himself.

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According to https://www.bloomberg.com