The article was published under the headline "Cryptocurrency has become the ultimate swamp asset." The authors noted that over the past few years, the new financial trend has become tightly entrenched in American public life.
"Crypto-enthusiasts are helping to drive regulators. Leading companies in the industry are among the biggest donors to election campaigns [...]. [US President Donald Trump's] sons are promoting their cryptocurrency ventures around the world. Trump's biggest meme-coin investors may be having dinner with him. The first family's assets are now estimated in the billions, making cryptocurrency possibly the largest source of its wealth," the publication pointed out.
The journalists saw irony in the situation, as bitcoin was originally conceived as a "revolution in finance." Its followers had "lofty goals" of protecting people from inflation and transferring power to retail investors.
"[Bitcoin] was more than an asset: it was a technology of freedom," said The Economist.
Now the original ideas have been forgotten, and cryptocurrency facilitates fraud, money laundering, and other crimes. According to the authors, the industry has also developed a "dirty relationship" with the executive branch of the U.S. government that transcends Wall Street or any other industry.
That said, various jurisdictions like the European Union, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE have managed to bring regulatory clarity to digital assets in recent years without "rampant conflicts of interest." Moreover, in parts of the developing world with high inflation and a weak banking sector, cryptocurrency still fulfills "something of the role that early idealists once hoped for."
"There is still a lot of speculation. But cryptocurrency is slowly starting to be taken more seriously by mainstream financial firms and technology companies," the piece said.
Journalists pointed to the tokenization of real-world assets as a promising direction, which major U.S. players, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, are already engaged in. The most common use case for digital assets remains payments, with many industry firms already using stablecoins in some settlements.
However, the U.S. risks missing opportunities, the publication said. The SEC under Gary Gensler has been skeptical of the sector, embroiling cryptocurrency companies in litigation and intimidating banks.
"The result is that cryptocurrency in America needs rescuing from itself. New regulations are still needed to ensure that risks don't spill over into the financial system. If politicians, frightened by the electoral power of the industry, fail to properly regulate cryptocurrency, the long-term consequences will be detrimental," the journalists warned.
Stablecoin bill fails in key US Senate vote
On May 8, the Stablecoin Bill (Genius Act) failed to pass a key procedural vote in the US Senate. This came after a number of Democrats refused to advance the document to the upper house of Congress for debate.
The list includes Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Mark Warner of Virginia, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Pennsylvania, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Angela Alsbrooks of Maryland. Gillibrand and Alsbrooks co-sponsored the bill.
Now, the chances of the GENIUS Act passing have significantly diminished. Failure could lead to a loss of bipartisan support and political momentum when considering other cryptocurrency initiatives, the publication explained.
Earlier, Democratic representatives intended to approve the GENIUS Act. A week earlier, an updated version of the bill appeared, the contents of which many had not had time to familiarize themselves with. Some senators were in favor of further development of the document.
