The recent weeks of Bitcoin volatility, with Bitcoin price hitting an all-time high of $5,000, only to plummet back below $3,000, and then stabilize near $4,000, are a signal of what Bitcoin really needs – regulation. This, at least, is the opinion of the former US Trading Commissioner Bart Chilton in an article published on CNBC.
Chilton has been chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the financial regulatory agency tasked with overseeing the U.S. derivatives markets.
The former financial regulator stresses that Bitcoin has a ‘big blind spot’ in its lack of regulation, and the government crackdown by China should send a message to Bitcoin investors and developers that regulation is needed.
Chilton says that the Bitcoin community needs visionary leadership who can shift the focus of Bitcoin development away from the anti-government stance it has taken, to a more regulated environment, producing stability. He said:
“Rather than waiting for governments to take actions that thwart the development of digital currencies, they should lead efforts to put in place appropriate regulatory oversight for these new and innovative financial technologies.”
Danger of more government
This perspective runs contrary, at least in part, to the founding vision of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies of a non-governmental digital currency.
Recent comments by Julian Assange reflect a more traditional Bitcoin perspective regarding the dangers of governmental power and regulation.