🟪 Judicial sea change

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Much has been said about a more crypto-friendly White House and Congress.

Let’s say a bit more: It’s probably not hyperbole to say that the incoming administration, as well as the forthcoming session of Congress, is the most crypto-friendly ever. It’s an outcome borne by two dynamics: a near-decade of industry lobbying and an election season wherein crypto companies and their backers spent millions of dollars to put their favored candidates in office.

Okay fine, you’ve heard this before. And yeah, it remains to be seen what lawmakers, policymakers, not to mention Donald Trump, do once they take office. Maybe they give the crypto faithful everything they wanted. Maybe they don’t. But it’s more likely than not that the industry’s support — both political and financial — will be rewarded. How long this all plays out is most likely the biggest unknown at this point.

But what about the courts?

I don’t have clear answers on this, so if you’re reading and do, please shout at me on Twitter (@mpmcsweeney) ahead of next week’s edition. But recent court cases suggest a system ambivalent at best about the government’s more aggressive oversight of crypto — and a GOP-dominated Supreme Court could further fuel this trend.

Remember, the SEC was accused of "gross abuse of power" in its case against DEBT Box. The statement, earlier this year, echoed criticism issued by many in the crypto space. Gensler later told lawmakers that the case wasn’t "well handled," the closest to a public mea culpa issued in the matter.

The SEC’s years-long case against Ripple was more mixed, but once again, the agency’s push against Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP proved fruitless. The two sides are still fighting over a $125 million judgment, as the SEC sought a much greater penalty.

Perhaps more interestingly, the US Supreme Court’s decision this year to strike down the so-called Chevron doctrine — by which courts generally deferred to the expertise of the executive branch on regulatory matters — could lead to a more crypto-friendly environment as well.

If a judicial sea change is coming (or already here), its evolution will be slower than, say, the White House or Congress. Courts move slowly. Remember, the Ripple case was filed nearly four years ago. 

A decade ago, most judges probably hadn’t heard of bitcoin. 

And now, on to the (holiday edition) roundup:

— Michael McSweeney

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