Why Regulators Cannot Ban Bitcoin

You’d have to shut down the internet.” Hester Peirce, Commissioner to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on implementing a Bitcoin ban.

Although Bitcoin’s market capitalization has surpassed $1 trillion, statements from governmental authorities and business leaders continue to fuel speculation about a U.S. ban on bitcoin. U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, has publicly criticized Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for their role in “illicit finance.” In the private sector, Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, has commented that Bitcoin may be outlawed just as gold was in the 1930s. Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, has also warned that “there could be some crackdown” on the digital assets.

Could the United States implement such a “crackdown” by joining countries like India, Nigeria and Turkey in implementing a ban on Bitcoin? While a complete ban is certainly feasible, the practical, legal, economic and political difficulties of implementing such a ban make it unlikely. Instead, we can expect the U.S. to join other developed economies in further regulating Bitcoin. Regulators will face the challenge of writing laws that can be enforced without strangling the new opportunities for economic growth that Bitcoin offers those countries that embrace it.

Source