My Interview With Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA)
Plus, Bitcoin Can Help Bolster Democracy
“The Democrats were on the wrong side of issues of innovation and Bitcoin in 2022 and 2024, and we now have an opportunity to get on the right side of it.” -Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)
This week, I spoke with Congressman Ro Khanna about how the Democrats totally dropped the ball under the Biden administration when it came to Bitcoin among other topics.
I published an article based on our interview in Bitcoin Magazine:
I appreciated Rep. Khanna’s openness in admitting his party shouldn’t have neglected the Bitcoin voter.
I also liked that he acknowledged that Bitcoin is a technology that can help not only Americans, but many, especially those who are financially disenfranchised, around the globe.
Enjoy!
Other Democrats Aren’t As Smart As Rep. Khanna
While I’m grateful for the forward-thinking Democrats like Rep. Khanna, I remained appalled at how backward-thinking others are.
One such Democrat is New York Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, someone who is a proponent of New York’s BitLicense, one of the worst pieces of legislation in all of the United States in the past 10 years.
In a letter that Assemblyman Vanel co-wrote, he urged Democrats to craft comprehensive federal crypto legislation and suggested that Democrats use NY’s BitLicense as a model.
I wrote about how stupid this is:
Bitcoin Can Help Preserve Democracy
On a more positive note, I learned this week that a piece I wrote inspired a bill that was submitted to the House! (This actually brought some tears to my eyes.)
The legislation proposes using blockchains (I don’t like that word as the technology in and of itself doesn’t have much value and is actually quite old — it was invented in 1991) to do such things as safeguard vote tallies, something I think is incredibly important.
Read more below:
A Beautiful Story From South Africa
On my recent trip to South Africa, I visited a township that partially runs on Bitcoin.
I documented this beautiful experience and shared what I learned on this visit in my latest for Forbes Digital Assets:
ADVERTISEMENT
Some of the residents living in the township featured in the article above have learned how to use hardware wallets, while many of them have never even opened a bank account.
You can learn how to use a hardware wallet, too. It’s much easier than you think.
Balancing Life And Bitcoin Obsession
I was a recently a guest on the Your Bitcoin Story podcast on which I discussed finding a balance in your life in the wake of discovering Bitcoin (and becoming obsessed with it), how Bitcoin is inherently a more powerful tool in the hands of individuals than it is in the hands of institutions as well as a number of other topics.
I really enjoyed the conversation. I hope you do to!
State-Level Strategic Bitcoin Reserves (SBR)
I also interviewed Zack Shapiro, Head of Policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, this week.
We talked state-level SBRs, why bitcoin benefits states more than it does the federal government and the Samourai and Tornado Cash trials.
South Carolina Likes Bitcoin
Speaking of state-level SBRs, a representative from the state’s government in South Carolina recently introduced a bill that would enable the SC State Treasurer to allocate up to 10% of the state’s funds to bitcoin (with a hard cap at 1 million bitcoin).
I wrote about this in greater detail:
Markets
Bitcoin continues to chop in no-person’s land.
It feels to me like it really wants to revisit $71k before it goes back up, but that’s not a definite.
The markets are confused and uncertain because of the Trump tariffs, and markets don’t like uncertainty. I have no clue when this uncertainty subsides.
IMO, these are decent levels for light dollar-cost averaging.
And that’s that. Frank the Tank just got back from hot yoga, and it’s time to rest.
Thanks for reading, and here’s to a great week ahead!
Best,
Frank
X | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Fountain | Wavlake
Nostr: npub1dnzzyhmewrzkh862z7z2shwmhh5htx0rvkagepj2fkgst9ptwg3qj4x52h
