Senator Merkley’s proposed ban on Trump and his cronies from the crypto space may seem righteous on its face. Corruption stinks. We all agree. But slapping a blanket ban like this? That’s a bit like taking a sledgehammer to smash a walnut. It’s terribly lazy policy, and it is filled with unintended consequences that the Democrats hailing this move just haven’t considered.
Innovation Suffocated Before It Starts
The crypto space is all about experimentation, about seeking new ideas and, in all honesty, sometimes about the celebrity hype. Prohibiting people—even the very unpopular—forbidding people from participating just because of who they are produces a chilling effect. Who's next? Any businessperson who ever palmed money unto a politician?
This isn’t an attempt to excuse or defend Trump’s memecoins. Let’s face it, $TRUMP and $MELANIA read like the sort of punchlines your uncle whips out at Thanksgiving dinner. It's about the precedent it sets. If you can disqualify someone for introducing a crypto project, you can prevent them from doing so in other spaces. Why not bar them from funding AI startups, creating new medical technologies or perhaps even authoring their memoirs.
The Dems are big believers in the purity of preventing what they consider corruption. In so doing, they cover their eyes to the forest for the trees. Which is why we need a more vibrant and innovative crypto ecosystem to compete on the global stage. We need to be attracting the best and brightest minds, not stifling them with draconian rules that smack of political opportunism.
The truth is, the worst part of this ban isn’t even the ban itself.
Regulatory Overreach Erodes Individual Liberty
This proposed ban isn't just about Trump. It includes "lawmakers and their families." Where does it end? Are we really going to begin policing every investment of every member of Congress or their immediate families? Will they require pre-approval for any purchase of stocks, bonds, or indeed any NFT?
Folks tend to lose themselves in the apoplexy of imagined corruption. We need to keep in mind that people deserve the freedom to engage in markets, including risky emerging markets such as crypto. The government's role should be to protect consumers from fraud and manipulation, not to dictate who can and cannot invest.
In their zeal to “protect” us, the Democrats are taking us down the road to financial authoritarianism. They conveniently overlook the fact that freedom to invest, including in risky assets, is core to any economic liberty. What begins as a ban on Trump-related cryptos may very well expand into more sweeping limitations on personal financial transactions. Look back when they tried to scapegoat meme stocks. Same playbook, different target.
This isn’t even an endorsement of Trump’s business practices. It’s about standing up for the idea that all Americans deserve the right to make their own dumb financial decisions. Fear of corruption cannot be an excuse to run roughshod over everyone’s individual rights.
The Crypto Industry Driven Offshore
Here's a connection Democrats aren't seeing: this ban is exactly the kind of thing that pushes innovation and capital out of the United States. Crypto is a global phenomenon. In other words, if the US government gets hostile to it, companies, developers, and innovative minds will just pick up and go elsewhere.
Smart crypto entrepreneurs are taking stock of their alternatives. Worried about the US’s increasingly hostile climate, many are packing their bags and heading to nations with friendlier environments. Switzerland, Singapore, and El Salvador are increasingly becoming the new global hotbeds of crypto innovation. They might well leave the US in the dust.
It’s not only a matter of lost jobs and tax revenue. It’s not just about losing our competitive advantage in a technology that has the potential to fundamentally shift the global economy. Democrats are so consumed with vengeance on Trump that they’re actually doing things to hurt America’s future. It is similar to anger driven by ideological partisanship that burns so hot it prevents them from seeing the future consequences.
Ready to see the US take its rightful place as a leader in the digital age? Because if not, you’d prefer to see us lag behind, doggedly clinging to the status quo as the rest of the globe runs full tilt into the future. The answer should be obvious. Democrats appear more interested in playing political gotcha than making sure Americans win the long game.
The belief that preventing corruption is an admirable goal doesn’t mean this proposed ban wouldn’t be a misguided and reckless overreaction. It will impede innovation, curtail personal freedoms, and push the entirety of the crypto industry overseas. Democrats should reconsider before they let loose this specific monster. They might just regret what they create.
