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Health, Wealth, and Happiness

October 20, 2023

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” 


- Eleanor Roosevelt

Howdy investors!


As chaos continues to consume the U.S. House of Representatives, relatively little attention has been paid to the fact that the acting Speaker of the House, Patrick McHenry, is one of the smartest and well-informed voices on crypto regulation.


As the battle for the next Speaker drags on, McHenry is potentially positioned to turn his interim role into a permanent one, becoming the first pro-crypto Speaker of the House.


To have a well-informed legislator at one of the highest levels of government would be very good news for crypto investors. In today's open letter, you'll get the chance to write your own U.S. representatives to help make this happen.


We encourage you to copy and paste our template letter below to your state representatives -- and don't forget to include your address. (Read on to find out why.)

An Open Letter to Rep Patrick McHenry

by John Hargrave

Dear Rep. McHenry:

 

On behalf of the crypto investing community, we would love to see you installed as permanent Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

It’s worrying to see the infighting happening within the Republican Party, between moderates who just want to get the work of government done, and extremists who just want to get their way.

 

In these turbulent times, it is not hard to see the similarities between extremists around the world, and those within our own government.

 

Amid the chaos, you have emerged as a voice of reason. You did not side with those who joined the Trump campaign’s attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 Presidential election. That shows strength of character, courage, and conviction.

 

You have also emerged as a voice of hope – especially to those of us in the crypto investing community. Your work on the House Financial Services Committee has been helpful in moving the crypto conversation forward. You’re smart and well-informed.

 

In short, you’re the strongest ally that we’ve got. That’s why we want you installed as the new permanent Speaker of the House. We want you in.


The House without a Head.

 

 

The Night We Met

 

You and I met once before, though you may not remember it. (Or maybe you linger on the memory each night.)

 

I approached you after your terrific panel at Consensus 2022, soon after Senators Lummis and Gillibrand had unveiled their Responsible Financial Innovation Act. “What’s the most effective way to get Senators to support this new crypto bill?” I asked.

 

“Write letters,” you responded immediately.

 

You explained that when you include your address – so that Senators know you are a voter in their state – they will listen.

 

You had one additional piece of advice. “What doesn’t work is tweeting insults at them.”

 

Since then, I’ve followed your advice (and shared it with the thousands of crypto investors who read our newsletter). In fact, I’m following it now: no angry tweets at the House, just a heartfelt letter to you.

 

Letters work.

 

To that end, I’m also asking the U.S. subscribers of our newsletter to send a similar letter to their staterepresentatives (note to readers: click here to find your state rep), by copying and pasting the following template:

 

--- copy, paste, and email ---

 

Dear Representative [NAME]:

 

I would like to cast my vote for Rep. Patrick McHenry to be permanently installed as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The work of government needs to get done, and Rep. McHenry has proven himself to be a man of conscience, and of action.

 

The infighting within the Republican Party needs to stop, and the work of government needs to get done. This is why you turned to Rep. McHenry to serve as interim House Speaker, and why he is the right person to be awarded the permanent role.

 

I ask you to do everything in your power to pull together a powerful bipartisan coalition of representatives who can restore unity, sanity, and democracy back to our government, with Rep. McHenry serving as permanent Speaker of the House.

 

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR ADDRESS]

 

--- copy, paste, and email ---

 

Yes, Rep. McHenry, it’s a letter within a letter. Very meta. Now if someone passes this newsletter to a friend, then it's a letter within a letter within a letter. Three levels deep: that’s full-on Inception. We'll have to spin the top to see if we're dreaming.

 

Rep. McHenry, once you get the Speaker position, I don't expect all our crypto regulatory problems to be solved overnight. But I do expect that you’ll be able to make meaningful progress. And progress is definitely what we need.

 

I won’t say you’re our industry’s only hope. But you are our best hope, and we’ll do what we can to help you succeed.

 

Speak it,

John Hargrave

[MY ADDRESS]

Must Read

Today's most important stories for crypto investors.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Joins More Than 100 Lawmakers to ask Biden to Prevent Crypto-Financed Terrorism (The Block)

Investor takeaway:Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, has raised concerns about Hamas using cryptocurrency for fundraising, urging President Biden’s administration to take action. The lawmakers have sought clarity on measures being taken to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for illicit activities, emphasizing the risk to national security.


This development indicates a likelihood of increased regulatory scrutiny in the cryptocurrency space, pointing towards a potential impact on investment strategies and considerations in this domain

SEC Drops Securities Lawsuit Against Ripple Executives (The Defiant)

Investor takeaway: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voluntarily dismissed its complaint against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen. Previously accused of facilitating $1.3 billion in unregistered securities sales via XRP tokens, the dismissal follows a partial legal victory for Ripple in July, where a U.S. District Judge ruled that XRP sales on public exchanges did not constitute unregistered securities offerings.


Ripple has welcomed the dismissal, interpreting it as a significant concession by the SEC. The news has positively impacted XRP’s market value, witnessing an 8% increase. This development could potentially bring more stability and positive sentiment towards XRP in the market, as reflected in its immediate price increase.

The Secret Life of Jimmy Zhong (CNBC)

Investor Takeaway: Imagine holding 50,000 BTC...how would it change your life? In this expose into the life of Jimmy Zhong, we see how he dealt with his windfall, and how a 911 call led to his eventual arrest for the theft of those BTC from Silk Road in 2012. Zhong hid his ownership of those coins for many years, but a simple mistake in an $800 transaction ended up being his downfall, leading IRS investigators to Zhong and his ill-gotten gains.


It appears that Zhong was one of the original developers of the bitcoin blockchain code, indicating that he also would have been an early miner of the coin. Rather than focusing on the long-term potential, Zhong took a shortcut. Avoid shortcuts.



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