By Dave McCormick. (Washington Examiner). March 26, 2024.
Across my career at the intersection of national security and our economy, I have witnessed firsthand several game-changing technological revolutions. From GPS to the internet and from smartphones to artificial intelligence, our nation’s unmatched capacity to innovate has created unprecedented benefits for the economy and security.
Another wave is upon us: Blockchain and crypto offer America the chance to lead another generation of critical innovation, but policymakers must do their part, or this opportunity will slip away. If the Biden White House and Congress don’t provide the support and regulatory certainty this burgeoning industry requires, there is little doubt it will develop and thrive elsewhere.
Blockchain is a technology that provides a transparent ledger for something of value. Crypto uses blockchain to enable transactions between people online. The benefits of America leading in blockchain and crypto are clear.
First, these technologies are grounded in principles such as individual freedom, limited government, and privacy, which, as a conservative, I hold dear. Conducting transactions through blockchain eliminates powerful and oftentimes expensive intermediaries, making the financial system more accessible.
While the ledgers showing transactions are public, the identity of account holders is anonymous, providing privacy for accounts doing legal transactions while exposing illicit transactions to significant scrutiny. This balance between privacy and the free flow of data is sorely needed in an age in which social media platforms and other tech companies have unparalleled data on every user.
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