First, I want to thank Seminars at Steamboat for taking a risk and having a policy discussion about cryptocurrency. I speak from experience when I say that it’s tough to condense this entire industry and 13 years of growth and development into an hour long presentation and our speaker was able to provide a history and his perspective of the present state of affairs while being funny and entertaining. 

Lee Reiners comes from a Fed background and that couldn’t have been more clear in his view of crypto and decentralized technology. Lee believes the U.S. government, and the advantages it has fought for over time, is the best steward of our money and information in partnership with private corporations. I believe that U.S. regulations are a big key to the success of cryptocurrency but this is not solely a U.S. market. Crypto is already heavily used around the world, especially in locations without access to robust banking systems. Looking at this industry through a nationalist lens would only show part of the picture.

It would be irresponsible to say that there are no risks associated with investment in crypto, or any traditional investment for that matter. However, when harsh criticism is lobbed at setbacks in the crypto industry, I can’t help but think of the $245 billion bailout major banks received from our government in 2008, or the $80 billion auto industry bailout and the $25 billion the airline industry received. We operate in a 13-year-old industry and there will be lessons learned and growing pains along the way. 

Corporations shamelessly sell our personal and transactional information to the highest bidder for the sake of advertisement. Transferring money domestically and internationally can take days at times with very high fees and no ability to track the funds in transit. Many major institutions still use 1982 MS DOS technology to underpin their network. We as a society are poised for a change in business as usual. Crypto, and more specifically blockchain technology, is here to move us to the next phase in our technological evolution. You can choose not to believe in it for now, but the time is coming where you will be using it — whether you choose to or not. 

Chris Slota

Steamboat Springs