The
outcry over US Senator Joe Manchin’s 26th February letter calling for
an outright federal ban on bitcoin came vicious and swift, with the
bitcoin community taking to
message boards and
blogs en masse to deride the West Virginia democrat as out of touch and
biased in his motives.
On 27th February, they got some additional support.
The Bitcoin Foundation has formally issued a response to
Manchin’s letter
that aims to inform him of the benefits digital currency could provide
to the financial system and to consumers around the world, provided the
technology is allowed to grow and develop.
Penned by general counsel
Patrick Murck,
the message took an understanding approach to Manchin’s concern for
recent events, but cautioned him that the risks are “not as dire” as
suggested.
Murck moved to mitigate growing concern that Mt. Gox’s issues were indicative of business practices across the industry, saying:
“We believe that the failure of one foreign-based exchange should not darken the prospects for Bitcoin businesses.”
Furthermore, he discussed the work the
Bitcoin Foundation
has done to speak with top regulators as part of an effort to ease
their concerns, detailed the as-yet-untapped proof of ownership benefits
of the protocol and cited the demise of
Silk Road as a positive step for the community.
The letter also addressed the economic impact of a potential bitcoin ban:
“We
do not believe that this is the right time in U.S. economic history to
turn away from innovations that offer improvements in the jobs picture
and the economy.”
The full response stopped
short of pointing out inaccuracies in the letter, though other
responses from the community were eager to provide this analysis.
To view Murck’s complete response, read the full text below:
Dear Senator Manchin:
We
read with interest your recent letter to federal regulators regarding
Bitcoin. Your interest in protecting Americans is genuine, of course,
and laudable. We believe the consensus in Washington, D.C., is the right
one for protecting consumers and growing the American economy: the U.S.
should foster the benefits of Bitcoin while mitigating the risks.
To
that end, we offer the following information to help improve your and
others’ consideration of the Bitcoin protocol, its many potential
benefits, and the risks. We hope to be a valuable resource to you and
your office, as we have been to many others in Congress and in relevant
U.S. federal agencies.
The Bitcoin Foundation is a member-driven
non-profit organization dedicated to serving the business, technology,
government relations, and public affairs needs of the Bitcoin community.
The foundation works to protect and standardize the Bitcoin protocol
and software, to broaden the use of Bitcoin through public education and
by fostering a safe and sane legal and regulatory environment, and to
support local Bitcoin efforts by connecting a network of Bitcoin
communities worldwide.
In the past several months, we have been
invited to testify and present in a variety of settings, formal and
informal, helping to educate congressional staff and government
agencies about Bitcoin. Most notably, we participated in the first
congressional hearing on Bitcoin hosted by Senator Carper, Chairman of
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on
November 18, 2013. I testified about Bitcoin’s potential for increasing
global financial inclusion, expanding human liberty, strengthening
privacy protections for the law-abiding, and providing a stable money
supply for those in countries where the local currency is poorly
managed. As you know, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs, also held a hearing on virtual currencies on November 19,
2013.
These hearings included witnesses from the
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the Department of the Treasury,
from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and
the Secret Service. The hearings also included representatives of
U.S.-based Bitcoin businesses, academics, a state banking regulator, and
other interested parties. The federal regulators testifying at these
hearings have examined Bitcoin carefully, and they produced careful,
thoughtful testimonies. They seem relatively sanguine about the
risks Bitcoin creates and open to capturing its benefits for Americans,
including the jobs and economic growth that will come from U.S.-led
financial services innovation.
The benefits of Bitcoin go beyond
its role as an alternative currency. The Bitcoin protocol, essentially a
universal public ledger, may help establish property ownership
in third-world countries, allow people to create computer-automated
contracts, aid in the management of public resources like the Internet,
and much more. The Bitcoin protocol is a revolutionary invention whose
potential is only beginning to be discovered.
There are risks, but
we are confident that they are not as dire as your letter
suggests. Because Bitcoin is a public ledger, records of transaction are
published and available online for all time. This is a far more
transparent system than conventional financial services and payments, in
which the vast majority of transactions are concealed. Indeed, a
challenge for Bitcoin adoption is making sure that law-abiding people’s
transactions do not expose their private financial information. We
believe the law enforcement challenge with respect to Bitcoin is
different but not harder. As you probably know, at the Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Bitcoin, FinCEN Director
Jennifer Shasky Calvery said, “Cash is probably still the best medium
for laundering money.”
The demise of Silk Road
illustrates well that Bitcoin is not a magic cloak for crime. Though
breathless press reports portrayed Bitcoin as a tool of criminality
early on, law enforcement has caught up. The Silk Road collapsed, and
successor sites have collapsed. We anticipate studying more carefully
privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, and the needs of law enforcement with
respect to Bitcoin.
Some countries’ central banks have warned
consumers about the risks around Bitcoin. I have done the same.
Consumers should not invest any money they aren’t prepared to lose,
and the volatility of Bitcoin’s price against the dollar is high, though
it will fall over time. Many countries around the world are embracing
Bitcoin, though, as a digital currency that offers their people improved
financial services and greater economic freedom. Germany,
Finland, Singapore, and Canada, for example, are among the U.S. allies
that have sent favorable signals by issuing tax guidance on Bitcoin.
Ireland, Israel, and Slovenia appear to have plans to do so. News
reports about bans on Bitcoin in China, Thailand, and South Korea may be
a product of misunderstanding local conditions.
The Bitcoin
ecosystem is still very much in its infancy, and the first wave of
Bitcoin businesses is now beginning to give way to a second, more
sophisticated group of investors and businesspeople. We believe that the
failure of one foreign-based exchange should not darken the prospects
for Bitcoin businesses in New York, California, Washington state, and
all over the country, including a restaurant in West Virginia that
announced late last year that it is accepting payments in Bitcoin.
Small
businesses all over the country like Artisan Pizza & Pasta in
Charleston are signing up to accept Bitcoin payments. With credit card
payments costing two to three percent, the narrow profit-margins of
retail businesses get even smaller. The competition that Bitcoin may
bring to the $50-billion per year credit card payment business may push
lower fees and better service for small businesses and consumers alike.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin-based financial innovation may help control data
breaches, of which we have seen massive examples in the recent past.
Payment services designed for the Internet need not put Americans’
personal information at risk.
We do not believe that this is the
right time in U.S. economic history to turn away from innovations that
offer improvements in the jobs picture and the economy. If Bitcoin does
not flourish in the United States, it will flourish elsewhere, and the
United States will cede leadership to the countries with the more
foresighted approach to innovation and economic progress.
There is
a lot to learn about Bitcoin, how it works, and what its effects on
U.S. society will be. There is no need to fear Bitcoin or overreact to
the challenges that accompany its huge potential benefits. We would be
happy to meet with you and your staff at your convenience, as we have
done with dozens of others congressional offices and government
agencies. I can be reached at patrick@bitcoinfoundation.org.
Respectfully,
Patrick Murck
General Counsel
