South Carolina state representatives are well-positioned for understanding and supporting Bitcoin.
This opinion editorial is by Dennis Fassuliotis, cofounder of South Carolina Blockchain Inc., and cofounder of South Carolina Emerging Technology Association, Inc.
You may be wondering why. South Carolina is poised for a financial revolution, so to speak. This confluence of support will allow us to adopt emerging blockchain technologies and transform our state.
This is important as the industry was acknowledged by Senator Tom Davis (R. Beaufort) in 2020 with a state Senate Resolution. However, the pandemic forced the state advocacy group to postpone their first major statewide conference. With a four-year history of Wyoming legislation (S.C. Senate Resolution 1108) and funding from General Assembly for the State Treasurer's Office for an assessment of the role of emerging technologies and digital currency literacy for the state's benefit, we now have a clear direction. High-speed rail will be heading to the station via the member-driven South Carolina Emerging Tech Association. SCETA's Bitcoin-centric education initiative and policy initiative SCBlockchainWeek.com will take place in the first week of Oktober. State Treasurer Curtis Loftis is one of many notable speakers who will share their views on how digital currency education, Bitcoin policy guidance, and economic investments made in Bitcoin can positively affect the Palmetto State.
You might think that it's too much window dressing, but not yet a first-class ticket. Or simply "Cool", but here's the next intersection. Our state treasurer and 21 state financial officers wrote a letter to Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) opposing the proposed disclosure rule on environmental, social and governance. Loftis supports Riley Moore, West Virginia's State Treasurer, in his fight against large banks cutting off credit for projects in West Virginia and other states. This is despite the fact that the interests and goals of many stakeholder capitalism actors often clash.
It may seem foolish to take on financial powerhouses such as Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, but it's not if you are a Bitcoiner. Jack Mallers said at Bitcoin 2022, that he could see a future in which these dinosaurs disappear if they do not embrace the open-source financial revolution. Critics may argue that this will increase taxes, but I believe principals are more expensive than that. Constitutional rights are not about dollars and cents, or bitcoin and sats. It all comes down to the price of freedom. Freedoms lost today will be gone forever tomorrow.
When did the risk of maintaining the status-quo or the main movement outweigh the cost of freedom? It's up to you, colonists who founded this country, to look back at the economic freedoms that led to the massive banking industry that is the core of the decentralized financial movement. While we can criticize the past and how it got there, redistribution wealth in 2022 is all about education, free markets and work.
There is a clear path for Bitcoiners. Find the states and leaders within them that support common causes, and seek them out as allies in fighting against woke politics. Let's bring together state financial officers who have taken up the fight against the tyranny and greed of stakeholder capitalism advocated by the WEF. We can also include financial institutions that are aligned with them. It's not about proof-of work versus proof of stake. Look at the U.S. Treasury's policy of regulation and enforcement against open-source projects such as Tornado Cash, or the excessive enforcement of securities laws by the SEC. We are at crossroads as an industry. It is all about survival. We must insist that meaningful legislation like Lummis Gillibrand be passed to ensure we are able to innovate and remain at the top of global financial markets.
Let's use that backdrop to show you Senator Tim Scott (R.S.C.) with his Opportunity Agenda.
There aren't many incumbent Congressmen that you can learn more about as a single issue. They don't yet see it.
Sen. Scott's Opportunity Agenda, an initiative for rural economic development, focuses on 8,764 opportunity areas all over this great country. It focuses on financial inclusion and quality education. The goal is to empower the innovation economy, balance the justice system, and bridge the wealth gap. Do you sound familiar?
Let's meet Sen. Scott to discuss how the Bitcoiners are tirelessly working hard to achieve exactly the same goals, not only domestically but also globally. Let's learn from El Zonte, and Bitcoin Beach. We need to learn about Galoy's open-source wallet. This will allow us to set up a community bank with Bitcoin, and provide custodial services to their trusted leaders to HODL their Bitcoin. You can instantly transfer any amount of Bitcoin to them, no matter how small, in 10 sats, or one satoshi. This is possible with Zelle, Venmo and PayPal as well as Cashapp, but not with Cashapp. That's huge!
Some areas in South Carolina where 135 Opportunity Zones have been identified may be tempted to look at developing countries as an option. Many residents in rural South Carolina still use cash to buy goods and cannot open a bank account. Upstate counties have stranded infrastructure, which was left behind by the offshore migration of the textile industry. These resources were unused or not used as part of the infrastructure that provided electricity for that industry. Ironically, facilities that once employed hundreds or even thousands of people are now used for warehousing and solar panels.
Bitcoin should lead the way in areas that are ripe to be redeveloped with the mining industry at its forefront. They can bring innovation and hard-dollar investment to every place they are located. Bitcoiners should support the growing number of state associations. They can work with local businesses and educate them. Mining operations in these areas can pay local vendors Bitcoin and create a flow to new bitcoin into their community. Meanwhile, local high schools can open up STEM programs and develop #STEMFORALL curriculums using MiPrimerBitcoin-type programs that teach anyone who wants to learn.
Let's make the language a little more palatable. Mining is complex and requires explanation. But when you explain to a politician how transactions are generated by a "digital assets data center," (DADCs), they immediately get it. We will be able to share the details later. We are in a race against well-established lobbying interests, from climate to banking, and they don’t care about your personal freedoms. DADCs are the foundation for a Bitcoin circular economic to be developed in partnership with local leaders to end the cycle of poverty.
Let me finish with a thought. Both South Carolina and North Carolina have political leaders who are embracing the centralized model of data centers. These massive data centers, which are built by Google, Apple, and other household names, require more natural resources and as much electricity to operate as DADCs. Both states created tax incentives to attract more. However, this didn't happen.
With industry moving to the Southeast, manufacturing incentives continue to bring home the bacon. Although economic developers are aware that they can create more jobs by using manufacturing, and less power than data centers, no one thought of the creation of an intangible asset or the pursuit of this industry when these laws were created. Consider that.
Let's move this train. SCBlockchainweek is pro-Bitcoin just in time to the midterms and shortly thereafter, presidential candidates will start coming through for the primary. Photo ops, town hall meetings and barbecues are all part of the schedule. Shrimp boils are also available. Because it is cheaper to lobby in South Carolina. Nearly every whistle stop is within an hour and half of Columbia S.C., which is the state capital. We pick winners from both sides in South Carolina. Let's take this Bitcoin policy bullet train to the stations that align with Bitcoiner value and make national policy impact the old-fashioned way. It is a ground swell support that tells state legislators the things that matter to federal counterparts. This will allow us to use the power of incumbency to make it happen. Let's take a small state that has political muscle and create a national dialogue that benefits both the heartland and the inner cities. Then let's beat the special interests groups and banks at their own games.
Dennis Fassuliotis contributed this guest post. These opinions are not necessarily those of Bitcoin Magazine or BTC Inc.
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By: Dennis Fassuliotis
Title: Let’s Drive The Bitcoin Bullet Train Right Through South Carolina
Sourced From: bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/drive-bitcoin-right-through-south-carolina
Published Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2022 23:00:00 GMT
