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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Black Women Blockchain Council Lends Its Voice to the US Treasury RFC
On the 7th of July 2022, the United States Treasury Department released a request for comments on the Executive Order 14067 of March 9, 2022 “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” The purpose of the request was to invite all interested members of the public to provide “input, data, and recommendations pertaining to the implications of development and adoption of digital assets and changes in financial market and payment infrastructures for United States consumers, investors, businesses, and for equitable economic growth.” In response to this RFC, Black Women Blockchain Council (BWBC), among over 250 other industry leaders, respectfully submitted our comments to U.S. Treasury on the 7th of August, 2022.
In our response, BWBC highlights the demographic profile of digital asset users, use cases, the adoption of digital assets in businesses, its role in wealth creation, and the reason for its general adoption among the masses. According to the BWBC’s comment, “Bitcoin’s success wasn’t through marketing schemes or influencers. It was due to a need that many sought after. The decentralized nature made it quickly become the number one global digital asset.” Ultimately, BWBC’s recommendation emphasizes decentralization, as well as self-sovereignty, education, and security as the way to further fuel the adoption of the technology.
BWBC’s response also notes risks, especially as it remains a constant criticism point for regulators and antagonists of the space. It states that, “In everything that is related to humans and finance, there are always going to be good and bad sides. Bad actors will continue to be motivated by financial gains. Like traditional finance, cryptocurrency also faces security risks. These risks are no greater than the other however; unlike traditional finance, there are no dedicated risk-based regulations in cryptocurrency.”
Understanding these risks and charting ideal regulations which educate, encourage diversity, open access, and not stifle innovation will lead to the safe growth of the ecosystem. We encourage the government to understand that “we are not reinventing traditional finance. Instead, the success and adoption of digital assets relies on the two factors we mentioned earlier, decentralization and community.” The digital assets ecosystem is currently filled with players from Black, Latinx, Asian and LGBTQ communities who are all willing to lend their voices to the government.
Since the advent of cryptocurrency through Bitcoin in 2008, the space has recorded exponential growth. Not only have cryptocurrencies gone mainstream, decentralized applications (dApps), Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and many other applications of blockchain technology are on a steady rise. Digital assets today now include cryptocurrency, tokens, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens, and governance tokens. Almost all traditional organizations are at risk of disruption by blockchain technology and an economy built with users in mind is steadily knocking at the door.
The space has given many financial freedom, provable digital ownership, and autonomy, but the possibility of misuse still lurks in the corner. This disruption and the fear that innocent users would be taken advantage of is the major concern of regulators concerning the space. While it is commendable that the government has chosen to seek the opinion of the people, it can only be hoped that the regulations coming after this reflect these opinions as much as possible. You can access the comment paper through this link.
About BWBC
Black Women Blockchain Council (BWBC) is a global Benefit LLC, established in early 2018 to address the lack of black women representation in the blockchain space. BWBC serves to promote and increase inclusion and representation of the black community in Blockchain, Fintech and future technology. BWBC’s mission is to create a safe space that inspires, trains and activates a talent and economic pipeline of black women pursuing professional and entrepreneurial careers in blockchain and fintech; including inspiring and educating the next generation (K-12 and College/University) of diverse and inclusive blockchain leaders.
