Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, has criticized United States President Joe Biden for his stance against crypto, which he believes hinders the nation’s innovation.
Larsen believes that the US no longer leads the global blockchain industry.
Biden’s Stringent Crypto Policies Are Holding Back the US
During a Bloomberg interview, Larsen highlighted a perceived lag in the technology hub of the United States. He attributes this to the stringent crypto policies implemented by Biden.
Recently, Biden has put forth regulations tackling the earnings and production aspects of the crypto industry.
Biden’s administration recently proposed a 30% tax on crypto mining, due to its perceived negative impact on the environment. Labeled the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAMA) excise tax, it would equal 30% of the cost of electricity used.
On August 25, the Biden administration further introduced a proposal to impose stricter regulations on brokers regarding the tax reporting of digital asset purchases and sales.
These proposed rules aim to align crypto asset reporting with the standards applied to other types of assets. Many industry participants argue that combining the two is akin to blending apples and oranges.
Larsen views the strict rules and the attempt to categorize crypto as a traditional asset as potentially fatal for the industry. He stated,
“Unfortunately, this administration made a really bad call. They pretty much killed San Francisco from being what it was, the blockchain capital of the world.”
Larsen asserts that the US previously held a dominant position in the blockchain industry.
Despite initially appearing optimistic about the future, he believes it has experienced a significant decline. “We owned it, and we don’t anymore. Because the Biden administration decided, for whatever reason, they wanted to push this industry offshore.”
Larsen explains that London, Singapore, and Dubai have taken the lead as the “global blockchain capitals of the world.”
There Is Less Fear Surrounding SEC
Larsen’s optimism shone through as he discussed the July 13 ruling, which determined that Ripple’s native token, XRP, is not categorized as a security for retail sales.
He suggests that this unfavorable ruling has created a challenging situation for the SEC, due to its recent robust legal actions against crypto firms.
“The SEC lost everything that was important to them, and important to regulation of the industry […] We think that this is really groundbreaking, this is the law of the land. It is actually quite good news for the US spirit on crypto and blockchain policy.”
He further cites the SEC’s latest battle against Grayscale regarding its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) product.
The US Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grayscale. The judge stated that the SEC was incorrect in rejecting its application based on the grounds it cited.
Larsen declared that “the judge really admonished the SEC.”
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