President Joe Biden and lawmakers are expressing increased interest in regulating cryptocurrencies. Prior to FTX's bankruptcy Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein expressed his wishes on crypto regulation
Billionaire David Rubenstein says he's personally invested in companies doing work in the cryptocurrency sector and is optimistic that government regulation won't hit the brakes on the industry.
"The crypto constituency is very strong in congress [and] they tend to be very Republican [or] very libertarian," he said. "The industry is not likely to be soft when dealing with members of Congress."
Rubenstein also praised FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for stepping in to aid the crypto sector and taking steps to inject liquidity into faltering businesses.
Rubenstein interviewed SBF on his Bloomberg TV show. During the interview neither man disclosed their investment in Paxos, a crypto infrastructure company.
Surely Paxos has experienced financial stress from repeated crypto implosions and loss of investor interest in the risky sector.
Rubenstein updated his regulatory predictions for crypto after SBF's great fall The private equity underwriter (PEU) offered:
A divided Congress and President Biden will have to come together to regulate crypto in time to meet Rubenstein's prediction timeline.
President Biden has been a frequent Thanksgiving guest at Rubenstein's Nantucket compound where homes rent for as much as $75,000 per week.
Washington continues to work for policy making billionaires like Mr. Rubenstein. Politicians Red and Blue love PEU and increasingly, more are one.
Update 2-13-23: CNBC reported:
“Effective February 21, Paxos will cease issuance of new BUSD tokens as directed by and working in close coordination with the New York Department of Financial Services,” Paxos said in a statement, adding that it would “end its relationship with Binance for the branded stablecoin BUSD.”
What happens to Paxos issued BUSD tokens already issued?
BUSD will remain fully supported by Paxos and redeemable to onboarded customers through at least February 2024,” Paxos said in a statement.
Bloomberg added:
PayPal was going to do a white-label Paxos stablecoin dollar — in the manner of BUSD — but “is pausing work” now that NYDFS is sniffing around Paxos. “If and when we seek to move forward, we will, of course, work closely with relevant regulators.” Like Paxos, PayPal has a New York BitLicense.
WSJ noted:
The SEC has sent Paxos a Wells Notice alleging BUSD is a security.
Update 2-15-23: Famed investor Charlie Munger said of cryptocurrencies:
"It isn't even slightly stupid, it's massively stupid, and of course it's very dangerous, and of course the governments were totally wrong to permit it."