Understanding the USA’s History With Cryptocurrency

The role of the United States in global money methods has been outstanding since the introduction of the civilized currency system. For every time money has evolved, the United States has one way or the other found itself around as a key influencer of the system.

It can be argued that the strength of the economy of the United States relies more on its monetary policies, in line with the global money system, rather than actual internal productivity within the country.

Why Is America Interested in Cryptocurrency?

In the current fiat system, the US Dollar remains the most demanded currency across the international community. It is regarded as a universal currency, and is currently the most accepted fiat in the world. Almost every country you go to, you can either transact directly, or easily find an exchange where you can convert US Dollar to local currency.

The benefit of this situation and the stability it gives the American economy is enough motivation for its government and financial institutions to show serious concern towards any development that could threaten the system. This explains how the United States and its agencies have responded to the new money technology, Cryptocurrency.

The idea of cryptocurrency came into full expression in 2008, when an individual or group with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto released a whitepaper titled “Bitcoin — A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System”. By the next year, the Bitcoin software became public and mining began, which is the way of creating units of the coin.

Since the first Bitcoin was created, several events have taken place around the technology and the solution that it brings. Many other solutions that are based on Blockchain and cryptography, which are the underlying technologies of Bitcoin have come into life. At the same time, adjustments in regulation and how cryptocurrencies are treated in the mainstream seems to be an unending process.

As usual, the United States has not shied away from playing key roles in the development of cryptocurrencies. While the market size of the nation remains significant for something that is regarded as an alternative to today’s monetary system, the economic implication that it could have on the US Dollar is enough to attract some serious attention from the powers that be.

What Were The Early Events In Crypto?

Apart from the individual events that tailed the Bitcoin in its early days, such as the very first transaction between Satoshi Nakamoto and Hal Finney in 2009, and the 2010 Pizza purchase that cost 10,000 Bitcoins for two Pizzas, major attention was drawn to Bitcoin in 2011, when it was criticized as a “dark web” currency that was used on Silk Road.

This development attracted more attention to the cryptocurrency, as evidently its price rose significantly, before dropping again after a while. Obviously, many more people became interested in finding the possibilities that surrounded the new invention.

As the awareness of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies grew, more interests were generated across the board and the US-based technological hub, Silicon Valley started buzzing with developments around the new money technology. Focus and debate revolved around Blockchain and cryptocurrencies, with goals on how best to adopt them into the mainstream.

How SEC Started To Regulate The Crypto Industry

It was when the discussion on regulatory concerns became hot that the United States showed the most participation in the cryptocurrency industry, with the SEC coming up with clear statements from time to time that has formed the majority of the regulatory framework that guides the industry today.

Prior to 2014, there was almost no regulation around the cryptocurrency industry. As more users got into the ecosystem, exchanges began to spring up, giving users the gateway opportunities to either purchase Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency that had come to life then, or sell their cryptocurrency for fiat.

A number of unholy activities were recorded within this period, causing the SEC to seek for regulatory measures that will curtail, if not completely eliminate these discrepancies completely.

Between 2014 and 2019 seemed to be the busiest period for the US SEC in the crypto industry. On many occasions, the conditions of participating in the industry became modified. This included the requirements to function as an exchange, the qualifications and characteristics of tokens, and when the ICO era happened, SEC was at the forefront in seeking out ways to secure users and stop the new wave from getting out of hand.

Shortly after the ICO boom, came the crypto winter, when the price of Bitcoin dropped significantly from an all time high value that was close to $20,000. While this happened, many participants looked forward to some favourable regulation from the SEC to recharge the markets. This was mainly as a result of the many ETF applications that seemed to suit the regulatory conditions of SEC. All the people got was one postponement after the other, causing another drag in the development of cryptocurrencies.

How Has The Cryptocurrency Market Evolved?

A lot of people anticipated for big name events like the ETF approval to open the market for institutional investors, in essence causing a resurgence for the cryptocurrency market. This has not happened yet, but the market is already looking green again. Why?

There are other openings that completely suit the requirements of existing regulations that have opened up the market for participants at every level. A perfect example is Vertex.Market, which is an OTC platform that makes it easy for anyone to by cryptocurrencies using bank transfer.

Vertex is a convenient and user-friendly platform that provide liquidity for cryptocurrency traders and investors in the secondary market. It is a one-stop shop for all kinds of tokens, even those that are yet to be listed.

With verifiable platforms like this, the public feels more secure to engage in the cryptocurrency markets. This could probably be one of the reasons why the fierce attack from the SEC and other financial institutions in the US has slowed down a bit.

The fact remains that the role of the US in the area of financial technology still remains recognised. The massive amount of trade and immigration requirements involved qualifies the North American giant as a superpower, as long as monetary laws and technologies are concerned.

Like the role it played in the fiat adoption era, the United States can still have a say in the regulatory aspects of cryptocurrency implementation. However, based on the original essence and design of this new kind of money, there is a limit to which any central body can exert control on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.