At CoinDesk’s 2019 Consensus conference, former Congressman Ron Paul heavily criticized the Federal Reserve.
He specifically noted that money comes from the market, not from central banks. Paul also recognized that governments have a vested interest in tampering with the money supply.
He stated, “no matter what system they have, the government comes in to get control because that is where the power is.”
The rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has caught the attention of many elected officials and bureaucrats. For good reason, they’re watching closely as this technology develops. The former Congressman expanded on this:
“They are always watching because If you look at monetary history, governments always want and work for monopoly control of the monetary system, whether is gold, silver or peanut. And they’ll not give cryptocurrencies free ride.”
Throughout his career in Congress, Paul championed the idea of creating competing currencies to counter the Fed’s negative influence on the economy. He was also one of the few elected officials to understand that easy money is the lifeblood of government growth.
As a devout proponent of free market money, Paul understands that there will be many controlling politicians in Congress who would want to ban Bitcoin and its cryptocurrency counterparts. Congressman Brad Sherman is one of them.
Sherman gained notoriety for calling to ban cryptocurrencies in a speech in Congress on May 9, 2019. The California congressman argued that cryptocurrencies would undermine American financial hegemony — demands for banning certain activities are the calling card of would be authoritarians.
The creation of the Federal Reserve coincided in an era that brought us income taxation and perpetual wars. The arrival of Bitcoin in 2019 represents a glimmer of hope for those who believe in free market money. Indeed, there are commodities like gold, with a proven track record as a viable currency for thousands of years. However, the whole point of a free market monetary system is to allow for individuals to freely choose which money they would prefer to use in their everyday lives. The key point is that this activity emerges voluntarily.
Sound money is a concept that billions of people around the world have been deprived of since central banking became adopted on a global scale during the 20th century. The rise of Bitcoin represents a rare opportunity to correct the many political errors of the 20th century. Whether they succeed or fail, cryptocurrencies are at least getting people to realize that central banking is not as sacrosanct as political elites would like you think.
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