|
Brought to you by: |
|
|
"The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it." |
— George Washington, Farewell Address |
|
|
Happy non-Partisan Day! |
Presidents' Day traces its origins to 1879, when it was established as a celebration of George Washington, and officially, that's still what it is: At the federal level, the third Monday of every February remains Washington's Day. |
Somewhere along the line, various states began celebrating it as Washington and Lincoln Day. |
Now, we mostly know it as "Presidents' Day" because US retailers started marketing it as such in the 1980s. |
Former President Washington would likely approve of this re-branding because "Presidents' Day" has a ring of non-partisanship, and that, he thought, was all-important. |
Washington belonged to no party, declined a third term to set an example of patriotic non-partisanship and, in his farewell address, warned against the dangers of political factions. |
There's no doubt he'd be sorely disappointed in the current state of affairs in which seemingly everything is politicized — including things as technocratic as the banking system and as quantifiable as the economy. |
Democrats have wanted the Federal Reserve to fight climate change and inequality; Republicans (as of recently) want to pick industrial winners via a strategic reserve. |
Former President Biden allegedly weaponized the banking system; President Trump has weaponized tariffs. |
Presidents of both parties have tried to bully the Fed into lowering interest rates, often successfully. |
Most recently, and perhaps most ridiculously, our inflation expectations have been politicized to a comical degree: |
|
We used to judge a president by the economy — now we judge an economy by the president. |
Ugh. |
But has anything been more politicized than crypto? |
The non-crypto world now fully identifies crypto with the president whom it did so much to elect. |
The industry's decision to pick a political side was perhaps unavoidable as a defensive maneuver. |
But I think crypto, originally designed to be beyond government control, may now be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. |
One prominent crypto founder tweeted last week that "politics is the most important [go to market] play for crypto companies today…the teams that can lock in the relationships with federal agencies, institutional capital, and world leaders are the ones that survive." |
That seems like a betrayal of crypto's original cypherpunk ethos (or whatever's left of it) — crypto was meant to defy federal agencies and world leaders, not embrace them. |
It also seems short-sighted. |
The four-year crypto cycle may be dead, but four-year political cycles are not (yet) — so the crypto industry would do well to plan for a dark time in which there's a non-crypto president in the White House. |
In the meantime, floundering crypto prices may be a timely reminder that there are limits to what politics can do for crypto. |
To ensure its future, the crypto industry should probably aim for bipartisan approval — and also build for a future where it has bipartisan disapproval. |
It may be that neither of those things are achievable, I don't know. |
But Presidents' Day is a reminder that non-partisanship is something we should all aspire to. |
— Byron Gilliam |
|
Brought to you by: |
|
Tax time is here, but we've got good news! No more spreadsheets, no more headaches. |
Easily integrate with every one of your crypto trading sources or wallets to track transactions, and generate accurate tax reports — all in minutes. Whether you're a casual trader or a pro, ZenLedger helps you stay compliant while minimizing tax liabilities. Our support team is here 7 days a week to help you get things done quickly and accurately. |
Spend more time making money and less time worrying about what you owe. |
Get started today! |
|
|
|
An Update on the Solana Thesis |
|
Santi joins the show to discuss why now it's crypto's time to accelerate adoption. Tune in for a deep dive into Santi's updated Solana thesis, crypto's biggest opportunities in 2025 and what's next for Inversion. |
Listen to Lightspeed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. |
|
Brought to you by: |
|
Hashrate Hackers, powered by Blockware, one of North America's leading Bitcoin Mining companies, announces the launch of a groundbreaking initiative aimed at blending the vibrant Ordinals community with the robust world of Bitcoin mining. |
The vision: harness the network of an Ordinals community to install a $10m+ mining operation behind it and allow its Holders to compete for BTC rewards monthly. |
Hashrate Hackers is where a store of culture creates a store of value. It turns collectors into contributors, and holders into participants of mining rewards. |
The mission to redistribute wealth is realized through themed "Hacks" that allow holders to build their rigs and participate in races against the clock and leaderboards for BTC. |
|
Follow our Twitter and join our Telegram group for the upcoming details. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment