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NY BITLICENSE IS DRIVING CRYPTO INNOVATION AWAY. It’s no secret that New York currently has the worst regulatory atmosphere for cryptos of any state in the union.
This past week influential investor Bill Ackman took to Twitter to implore NYC Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul to try to do something about it.
Ackman commented:
“Let’s fix this right away. We can’t lose any more New Yorkers. NY is on its way to becoming a crypto center of innovation. Let’s remove barriers, create opportunities for growth and innovation, and help our state and city!”
Adams, elected this past November, ran on a crypto friendly platform. But since the election, he has become more equivocal, backing away from supporting Bitcoin mining in the state.
During a local government budget hearing with elected officials in Albany, Adams said he supports cryptocurrency but not crypto mining.
Bitcoin utilizes a “proof of work” method of consensus for writing data to its decentralized blockchain ledger. The solving of complex mathematical problems involved in the consensus method requires significant computing power and energy.
But Ackman’s complaints go beyond the controversial mining issue.
New York has an arduous crypto regulatory framework that crypto exchanges and other crypto focused businesses must meet to acquire a “Bitlicense” to legally operate in the state.
The complicated and costly requirements have led most exchanges to stop trying to offer services to New York residents, or not to even bother trying.
Crypto companies innovating with blockchain technologies and investment vehicles have faced similar disincentives. Tax reporting requirements compared to other states is another headache.
Bitlicense was established in 2015 to regulate various aspects of cryptocurrency issuance and trade.
Block (formerly payments processing company Square), led by Jack Dorsey, said this week that its Cash App clients in the United States—except for New York residents—would be able to transmit bitcoin quicker thanks to a Lightning Network improvement.
“At this time New York residents aren’t eligible for Lightning,” Cash App announced last week in a tweet, according to Yahoo News. Users frustrated at being shut out blamed the BitLicense rule.
Ackman, a billionaire founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company, said he believes that eliminating regulatory hurdles and loosening laws might be crucial to NYC becoming a crypto center.
For more on where Wall Street and New York may be headed in terms of cryptos, see 2022 Top Trend “CRYPTO CAPITOL: WALL STREET 2.0.”
SUPPORTERS GET AROUND BLOCKADE OF FINANCING CANADIAN TRUCKER FREEDOM CONVOY WITH CRYPTO. Following GoFundMe’s decision not to give the remaining $9 million to the Freedom Convoy 2022 campaign, over 5,000 donors have collected money via Bitcoin (BTC) for Canadian truckers protesting COVID-19 regulations.
As of Friday, 5,061 contributors have donated Bitcoin to Tallycoin for the truckers, totaling over 21 BTC worth $925,340, noted crypto news outlet Finbold.com.
Because they are utilizing Tallycoin to assist the process, the campaign may receive all Bitcoins straight into crypto wallets in which they hold control of the keys.
Tallycoin is a crowdfunding platform built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It represents the kind of web3 decentralized app framework that politicians, courts and corporations can’t easily crush.
According to its creators, via Tallycoin Connect, a feature that allows donations to be received directly to a bitcoin node (a computer running bitcoin software and on the bitcoin network), the platform offers a “censorship resistant solution that empowers you to accept donations directly to your own bitcoin node.”
Unlike GoFundMe, Tallycoin does not have the ability to withhold any of the monies that have been raised. Tallycoin allows Bitcoin donations to be made both on-chain and through the Lightning Network, which improves the overall efficiency of Bitcoin transactions.
GoFundMe became embroiled in controversy when it decided not to disburse 9 million dollars raised for the Freedom Convoy.
GoFundMe claimed the protest had broken its guidelines, saying the “peaceful demonstration has become an occupation.”
GoFundMe compounded its problems by initially saying it would redistribute collected funds to “worthy” alternative charities and causes.
After an uproar by donors, the company reversed itself and said their money would be refunded to them.
The Trends Journal has predicted and covered how cryptos and web3 apps would be a game changer in funding for dissident causes and groups, in stories such as “HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION HEAD SAYS ‘BITCOIN IS THE REVOLUTION’” (29 Jun 2021), “A PERVERSION OF CRYPTOCURRENCY” (12 Oct 2021) and “WILL BLOCKCHAIN SAVE THE DAY?” (20 Apr 2021).