Congressman Patrick McHenry said the United States should lead the way on Bitcoin.
Today at the Bitcoin Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) spoke about America’s leadership in Bitcoin during a fireside chat with Club for Growth President David McIntosh. He emphasized the importance of doing your part and not being left behind.
Just in: 🇺🇸 Congressman Patrick McHenry said America must be a leader in: #Bitcoin 👏 pic.twitter.com/jC20GaurXe
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) April 9, 2024
“This is where the action is. This is a bastion of freedom,” McHenry said when asked why he was speaking at the Bitcoin Policy Summit this morning. “The way I see Bitcoin is – what Satoshi brought to this world was unstoppable. Every regime that has tried to shut down Bitcoin has failed, and even the Chinese Communist Party, which has tried to shut down Bitcoin, has not been able to do so. So “It’s an unstoppable technique.”
McHenry, known for championing financial innovation and technology, stressed the need for colleagues in his office to be educated about Bitcoin, acknowledging the challenges of regulating the technology for uninformed policymakers.
“The dumbest way to obscure a deal is to do it publicly,” McHenry explained. “And it’s a level of embarrassment when senators and representatives ask questions about how to obscure these transactions. And when we have to explain that this is a public ledger where people can see the movement of value, they don’t understand. Here we go…cash is still the king of illicit finance.”
The lawmaker further emphasized how it would be a “much easier conversation” to have conversations with fellow politicians if they read Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper before coming together to legislate. McHenry said the lack of understanding of Bitcoin among policymakers has led them down a rabbit hole of misinformation. And this forces them to tell the truth while legislating based on that information.
Overall, McHenry’s message at the Bitcoin Policy Summit was filled with a sense of urgency and opportunity, urging the United States to embrace its potential as a leader in the Bitcoin revolution and chart a course for a dynamic and innovative future in finance and technology. reflected.
Representative McHenry said: “I’m trying to convince policymakers on the Hill that America should embrace and be a leader rather than a laggard, and I want to make sure you all hear that message loud and clear,” he said.
For more information about the annual Bitcoin Policy Summit, including the full agenda and speaker list, visit the BPI website here. The official Bitcoin Policy Summit live stream can be found on YouTube and X (Twitter).