Pantera: Big changes in US Bitcoin policy

As we all know, compared with previous US presidential elections, the connection between this election and crypto assets is unprecedentedly close. Trump has repeatedly stated that if elected, he will introduce various crypto-friendly policies, and the Harris team is also actively preparing.

No matter who is elected in the future, this means that the crypto industry may usher in more regulatory attention. In this context, it is very important for investors to pay close attention to the attitudes and policy proposals of the candidates towards crypto assets. Today, let's take a look at the views of the US political arena on the crypto industry as reviewed by investment management company Pantera Capital.

The following is the main text:

01 The Great Political Transformation of Blockchain

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin said: "In some years, nothing happened; and in some weeks, the world has changed in a few weeks, which has not happened for decades."

For example, I have been investing in Bitcoin and blockchain for more than ten years. In the long run, nothing big happened to the SEC, the president, and the government before, but in recent weeks, rational thinking that has not happened in ten years has occurred. It's like a roaring shock wave, and the ideals advocated by encryption for ten years are penetrating political barriers.

In May, a presidential candidate expressed support for blockchain; a few weeks later, two of the three presidential candidates, ten US senators, and members of the US House of Representatives attended the 2024 Bitcoin Conference! This situation is absolutely unprecedented.

There’s so much going on on the policy front that it’s hard to summarize it in one sentence, but here’s a quick rundown of the main policy initiatives:

1) Trump’s Bitcoin 2024 Speech: Policy Initiatives

A. Bitcoin is a “miracle of technology”

“Bitcoin is not just a miracle of technology, as you know, it’s also a great achievement of cooperation and human ingenuity.”

B. Bitcoin could surpass gold

“But I think this is like the steel industry 100 years ago. I think you’re still in the early stages…

It’s already bigger than ExxonMobil. Soon it’s going to be bigger than the entire silver market cap…

One ​​day it may surpass gold."

C. Trump's "America First" policy

"The reason I'm here today to communicate with the Bitcoin community can be summed up in two very simple words: America First. Because if we don't do it, China will do it, and other countries will do it. Let's do it, and let's do it right. My vision is for America to dominate the future..."

"I want America to be number one in technology, number one in science, number one in manufacturing, number one in artificial intelligence, and number one in space."

D. Make America a global leader in encryption

"This afternoon, I will lay out my plan to ensure that the United States will become the encryption capital of the earth and the world's Bitcoin superpower, and we will achieve this goal."

E. What Bitcoin represents

" “Bitcoin stands for freedom, sovereignty, and independence from government oppression and control. The Biden-Harris administration’s crackdown on crypto and Bitcoin is wrong, very bad for our country, and really un-American in its values. "

F. Support encryption policy and end "Clog Point Plan 2.0"

"As President, I will immediately end "Clog Point Plan 2.0"...

I will cut unnecessary and burdensome regulations. Work every day to make the United States the best place in the world to start a business, including crypto businesses.

"Clog Point Plan 2.0" is a term used by some in the blockchain industry to describe regulators' efforts to cut off blockchain companies from banking services, forcing many projects to move overseas."

G. New Presidential Advisory Committee on Crypto Assets

H. Regulatory Clarity for Stablecoins

"As part of our efforts to provide regulatory clarity, we will develop a framework to facilitate the safe and responsible expansion of stablecoins, allowing us to extend the dollar's dominance to new areas around the world."

I. Bitcoin is not a threat to the dollar

"Those who say Bitcoin poses a threat to the dollar are completely wrong. I believe the opposite is true. Bitcoin does not threaten the dollar. The actions of the current U.S. government are the real threat to the dollar."

J. Embrace New Ideas

"Our country has never thrived by trying to censor new ideas and stifle the dreams of its people. America always raises our flag on the next frontier and boldly moves forward. 」

2) US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

I can say that Trump said ten things in a row that I completely agree with! This is why I am so optimistic about the future of blockchain, all of these policies are completely rational. It seems that no matter who becomes the next US president, the country will have rational crypto policies.

A popular point and one that I strongly support is the theme of long-term monetary reserves. On July 27, 2024, Trump also said at the Bitcoin Conference:

"Many Americans do not realize that the U.S. government is one of the largest Bitcoin holders...

The federal government holds almost 210,000 Bitcoins, which is 1% of the total supply. But for a long time, our government has violated the basic rule that every Bitcoin holder keeps in mind: never sell your Bitcoin.

Therefore, as the last part of my plan today, I declare that if elected, the policy of my administration, the United States of America, will be to retain 100% of all Bitcoin currently held or acquired by the U.S. government in the future. We will retain 100%... This is actually the core of Bitcoin as a national strategic reserve. Therefore, when I take steps to transform this huge wealth into a permanent national asset for the benefit of all Americans."

These Bitcoins will have a transformative impact on our country. As President Trump just said: ‘We’ve printed too much money, we’ve spent too much money. In 22 months during COVID, we’ve printed as much money as in all of American history combined, and this needs to stop. By building a strategic Bitcoin reserve, we’ll have an asset that can cut our debt in half over the period until 2045. ”

3) Harris’s move

On July 27, 2024, according to the Financial Times: "Kamala Harris’ campaign team seeks to ‘reset’ its relationship with crypto companies":

“Kamala Harris’s advisers have approached top crypto companies, and her team is trying to reestablish its relationship with the crypto industry, which has played an important role in supporting her presidential opponent Trump.

According to four people familiar with the matter, the vice president’s team has recently contacted people close to crypto companies, including leading exchange Coinbase, stablecoin company Circle and blockchain payment group Ripple Labs.”

4) Views of congressmen and senators

Representatives Khanna and Nicol also emphasized at the Bitcoin Conference:

"I really don't see why it should be a partisan issue. Opposing Bitcoin is like opposing mobile phones.

Amen, Satoshi Nakamoto gave this technology to the world."

Representative Nicol said in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine on August 2: "In Nashville, my main focus is to keep this issue within the scope of bipartisan concern, which is also what I have been committed to in Congress."

Senators Scott and Loomis said together in a speech at the Bitcoin Conference on July 26, 2024:

As Chairman of the Banking Committee (Senate), I promise that we will push this legislation to a vote in the Banking Committee and work to get it become the law of the United States, making Bitcoin free at home! Free at last! Thank God, it’s finally free…”

02 Bitcoin 2024 Panel Discussion Summary: “Bitcoin – A Potential Opportunity”

Panel guests include:

• Pantera founder and managing partner: Dan Morehead;

• SkyBridge Capital founder and managing partner: Anthony Scaramucci

• Cardone Digital Ventures managing partner: Gary Cardone

• Moderator: Aaron Amold

A. A highly potential and unmissable opportunity

Dan: "Anthony, when we were at Goldman Sachs, we saw that commodity investment was seen as an asset class. At that time, I was doing emerging market investment, and now emerging markets have also become a major asset class.Next, I predict that in another five years, almost every institutional investor will set up a blockchain team and allocate funds.This allocation may reach 800 basis points. And the reason why I am still optimistic is that no institution has really allocated such funds at present.

This is the first opportunity missed by the "smart money". Now almost all institutional investors have either no or less than 1% of blockchain investment.

This is not only the most promising investment opportunity I have ever seen, but also the most unmissable investment opportunity. Although it may be slower than we expected and will experience some fluctuations, almost everyone will use blockchain in the next ten years. This is very clear. Therefore, I still think this is an investment opportunity with great potential and cannot be missed, because institutions have not really intervened yet.

B. He is still complaining? !

Aaron: “You said it might take a decade, maybe longer, to surpass the market value of gold. We don’t know the exact time. It’s hard to predict, but why does it take so long? Why hasn’t it happened yet?”

Dan: “Aaron asked exactly why I like this investment. We’ve been doing this for eleven years, and in those eleven years, the value of Bitcoin has doubled on average every year… and he’s still complaining about the slow progress. This is actually a great investment opportunity!”

C. The government’s political shift on blockchain is big news in the crypto space

Aaron: “If Trump wins the election, will that be a huge benefit for Bitcoin? As a Bitcoin holder, what do you think about this issue?”

Dan: "I think this is the biggest news in crypto... I think the former president changed his views in May, which is a major event in crypto. Whether he is elected or not, or another candidate is elected, everyone's attitude has changed.The SEC is already launching an ETF for Ethereum, and everything has changed. I really think this is a tsunami-like change because now politicians see that crypto assets are becoming popular. Think about it, most Americans are under the age of 40, they like crypto assets, and they have the right to vote. So, politicians can connect these factors."

D. Bitcoin's killer application is Bitcoin itself

Aaron: "Bitcoin's Token economy is developing. Does Bitcoin need to develop further? In other words, does Bitcoin need to build a strong Token economy to become that highly potential investment? If the Token economy cannot develop, will Bitcoin's growth be limited? What do you think?"

Dan: “I think it’s great that there are some really cool projects being built on top of Bitcoin, like Stacks and stuff like that, but sometimes people ask ‘What’s the killer app for Bitcoin?’ Well, Bitcoin itself is the killer app. Bitcoin already stores a lot of wealth and carries a lot of savings and money flows across borders. So even if nothing else gets built on top of Bitcoin, it’s still an amazing development for the world.”