Conservatives can lead the charge on clean crypto rules



Many assume conservative principles belong to the past. They don’t. The debate over cryptocurrency regulation — including the House GOP’s Clarity Act — offers a chance to apply those principles to a 21st-century frontier.

Cryptocurrency and decentralized finance reflect core American values: free speech, free markets, and innovation from the ground up. Across the country, developers are building protocols that move money in microseconds, create new investment tools, and expand access to capital like never before.

With a Republican-led Congress considering landmark cryptocurrency legislation, we have a historic opportunity to apply time-tested conservative values to the cutting edge of financial innovation.

Blockchain technology provides a means to secure property rights in the digital era. The most transformative products likely haven’t even launched yet.

The potential benefits are massive. In 2024 alone, decentralized finance grew to more than $114 billion. Even more capital — billions of dollars — stands ready to enter the space through pension funds and institutional investors.

But that money won’t move without guardrails.

Institutional investors need transparency. That means audit requirements they can trust, legally accountable custodians, clear reporting on asset health, and safeguards against manipulation.

They also need legal certainty. Defined rules give investors confidence. Without them, they’ll stay away — or invest elsewhere.

That’s where Washington plays a role.

The Trump administration shifted U.S. regulatory policy toward digital assets, elevating crypto to a national priority through executive order. Now, with a Republican-led Congress weighing landmark crypto legislation, conservatives have a real opportunity.

This moment demands more than slogans. It calls for applying time-tested conservative principles — rule of law, market discipline, and individual liberty — to the future of finance.

Don’t be afraid

Some treat cryptocurrency as a threat. Fair enough — the collapse of FTX still casts a long shadow over the current debate in Congress.

Sam Bankman-Fried, a Democratic megadonor, didn’t just run a failed company. He ran a cautionary tale — a playbook for what lawmakers must never allow again.

The FTX scandal highlights two enduring conservative truths:

  1. Human nature is flawed. Left unchecked, individuals will act out of greed and self-interest. Conservatives have never pretended otherwise — and that’s why we build systems of accountability.
  2. The rule of law matters. Pre-established standards prevent chaos. Waiting for disaster or making policy on the fly only magnifies the damage.

FTX didn’t collapse because of cryptocurrency. It failed because no one held Bankman-Fried accountable. He amassed influence through backroom politics and ran a tangled network of private firms without meaningful oversight. The result: billions vaporized and public trust shattered.

Thoughtful legislation can prevent the next meltdown — not by stifling innovation, but by setting clear, enforceable rules rooted in transparency, responsibility, and the rule of law.

A remedy with room to improve

The bill now before Congress offers a rare chance to get crypto regulation right.

It tackles the custodial vulnerabilities exposed by the FTX collapse and establishes a framework that allows digital asset projects to integrate into the broader financial system. Just as important, it does so under a unified set of rules.

The bill follows conservative logic. It exempts infrastructure providers — such as blockchain validators and payment processors — from regulatory burdens that don’t apply. These actors don’t make governance decisions, and the law should reflect that.

It also classifies participants based on their actions, rather than the extent of their political influence.

But the bill still needs one critical fix.

Lawmakers need to include decentralized autonomous organizations as eligible cryptocurrency issuers. These DAOs, the opposite of central banks, operate through user-led governance. Crypto users vote on the rules of the system they help create.

DAOs have become common in decentralized finance. Yet the current bill overlooks them. That omission could block the very groups driving innovation from entering the regulated space.

RELATED: Trump’s Bitcoin masterstroke puts America ahead in digital assets

  Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

If a project follows the rules, discloses information, and acts responsibly, it should qualify, regardless of how it governs itself. Whether the issuer is a DAO, a startup, or a traditional bank, one standard should apply.

That’s the conservative way: equal rules, fair enforcement, and space for innovation to thrive.

What if we get it wrong?

Leaving the bill unamended carries real risks:

  • Overreaching compliance rules could smother the best of American innovation — now and in the future.
  • Narrow legal definitions might force decentralized finance into the hands of a few massive exchanges, recreating the same “too big to fail” system that burned taxpayers in 2008.
  • Ongoing regulatory ambiguity could drive developers and infrastructure providers offshore, into the arms of authoritarian regimes eager to benefit from America’s hesitation.

The biggest danger? Watching capital and talent flee to countries that welcome decentralized commerce while the United States — its origin point — falls behind.

Decentralized finance leaders aren’t calling for lawlessness. They want smart policy.

Joe Sticco, co-founder of Cryptex and a White House Crypto Summit participant, put it this way: “In DeFi, it’s not about evading rules — it’s about building better ones.”

Sticco believes today’s innovators want a seat at the table. “We believe open financial systems can coexist with responsible oversight,” he told me. “We have to show up, we have to explain the tech, and we have to help shape the rules.”

Congress still has time to get this right. But the window is closing.

The path forward

Republicans now hold both chambers of Congress. That means the window to act is wide open.

This isn’t about growing government. It’s about setting the rules so innovation can thrive, fraud gets stopped, and people are held accountable. Here's what that looks like:

  • Clear rules that apply fairly to both traditional companies and decentralized projects;
  • Basic protections like audits, secure custody of funds, and anti-fraud measures;
  • Freedom for developers to build new tools without unfair roadblocks;
  • And clear standards for when crypto projects are considered stable enough to ease up on oversight.

With these fixes, the Clarity Act can do what no other crypto bill has: protect investors, promote innovation, and keep America in the lead.

We can build the future of finance right here — on American terms, with American values. But we have to act now.

New Laws Restrict Indiana Treasurer Who Protects Americans From Debanking

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Congress claps back at Biden’s 'junk fee' crusade



Good news rarely comes out of Capitol Hill, but last week’s Senate vote to reject a Biden-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal marked a welcome exception. Lawmakers blocked a plan to impose price controls, taking an important step toward reviving the Trump administration’s efforts to rein in the agency. Those efforts included directing CFPB employees to stop developing new regulations.

The House is scheduled to vote on its version of the resolution on Wednesday.

The overdraft cap may be the latest counterproductive mandate from the CFPB, but it’s far from the first. Given its track record, the next step shouldn’t be reform but repeal.

Despite centuries of evidence that price controls often backfire, the Biden administration made them a central part of its economic agenda. From rent regulations to the so-called “war on junk fees,” the White House consistently pushed for caps and mandates.

The CFPB’s rule to limit overdraft fees — finalized just as the Bidens prepared to leave for Delaware — followed that same pattern.

The rule would impose a $5 fee limit on banks’ and credit unions’ overdraft charges. Yet as with most price control schemes, it is the very people it claims to help — lower-income Americans — who stand to lose the most.

The Senate, led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who introduced the resolution, voted to repeal the cap, recognizing it for what it is: a performative policy that distracts from the inflation that has devastated family budgets. Scott noted that the rule changes the conversation, not consumers’ realities.

Whether covering a car repair, rent, or a medical bill, overdraft protection enables people to bridge temporary shortfalls without bouncing checks, defaulting on bills, or incurring additional late fees. It’s used most frequently, not by the reckless, but by responsible people in tight spots.

A flat government-imposed $5 cap on overdraft charges is both economically unworkable and fundamentally unfair. Banks incur actual costs when they provide this service. They must process the transaction, front the money, and take on the risk that the overdraft won’t be repaid.

When those costs can’t be recovered, businesses eliminate the service altogether or pass the costs on to other customers in other ways. In this case, that would mean millions of consumers losing access to a widely used and valued program. And that’s not just theory — previous attempts to regulate overdraft fees have led to similar consequences, including fewer banks offering overdraft coverage or more restrictive account terms.

Lower-income families aren't the only ones who will suffer. Midsized and regional banks, many of which serve rural and working-class populations, would be forced to reassess whether they can afford to offer overdraft protection at all. That’s a problem because many rural communities are lucky to have even one bank.

Add it all up, and it’s clear this rule doesn’t punish Wall Street. It squeezes the very Americans the Biden administration claimed to champion — the forgotten men and women.

The CFPB’s proposed rule would set a troubling precedent. Once price controls take hold in one area of consumer finance, they become easier to expand into others.

History shows what happens when the government imposes arbitrary price limits: supply drops, access declines, and the people most in need — especially those on the margins — suffer the most.

As Milton Friedman put it, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” A $5 cap on overdraft fees may sound appealing, but it carries real costs.

The House must now follow the Senate’s lead and repeal this flawed regulation. And Congress shouldn’t stop there.

The overdraft cap may be the latest counterproductive mandate from the CFPB, but it’s far from the first. Free-market advocates can’t point to a single action by the agency they support.

Given its track record, the next step shouldn’t be reform but repeal.

Since the Trump administration began reining in the CFPB, several Republican lawmakers have introduced bills to dismantle it entirely. Congress should bring those proposals to a vote and keep the political will to finish the job. This debate is long overdue.

Time to dismantle the Fed’s debt-based dollar scam



A banking cartel is haunting our society with its ability to create, destroy, and control money — the Federal Reserve. It must be abolished and replaced with a more rational and fair system.

Money is the lifeblood of modern civilization. It enables us to establish contracts, assess the worth of goods and services, and trade efficiently. But what exactly is money, and who creates the U.S. dollar?

Our monetary system is a mechanism for transferring wealth to urban elites who produce nothing.

The first step in understanding money is dispelling the notion that a valuable asset like gold backs it — because it doesn’t.

The dollar is valuable for two reasons. First, it is backed by the “full faith and credit of the U.S. government,” meaning its worth derives from its ability to tax people to pay its debts. Second, the federal government only accepts tax payments in U.S. dollars, creating an inherent demand for the currency.

Despite these factors, the federal government creates very little of our money. The U.S. Treasury prints paper bills and mints coins, but physical cash accounts for only about 10% of our total money supply.

The hidden mechanism of money creation

Most of our money comes from debt — and that’s a problem.

Modern money is almost entirely created through lending. Every non-cash dollar must eventually be repaid to a private bank with interest. In other words, most U.S. money is simply a collection of IOUs owed to private financial institutions.

Commercial banks operate under a system called “fractional reserve banking.” They are private businesses that only hold a small amount of cash reserves and issue loans often exceeding 900% of their small cash reserves. When a bank issues a loan and deposits it into a borrower’s account, new “money” is created out of thin air.

An unelected financial cabal

Over 100 years ago, a group of powerful financiers met on Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia, to draft a plan that would give them — rather than Congress — control over America’s monetary system. The result was the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which created the Federal Reserve — a private banking cartel disguised as a government agency.

The Federal Reserve is not part of the U.S. government. It is a privately held bank consortium, accountable only to its shareholders. The Federal Reserve’s transactions have never been fully audited, and its decisions require no approval from any government official. Congress has outsourced its constitutional control of the American money supply to some of the wealthiest people in the world, arguably the greatest financial crime in the history of this country.

When the federal government spends more than it collects in taxes, it borrows the difference. It issues Treasury bills to borrow money from investors or the Social Security trust fund. In some cases, it issues Treasury bills directly to the Federal Reserve. The Fed then creates money by adding numbers to an account without tangible backing. This process leaves the government — and ultimately taxpayers — responsible for repaying the Federal Reserve with interest.

Leveraging their monopoly on money creation, private banks earn vast sums from interest on loans that far exceed what they hold in reserves. U.S. banks currently have $3.3 trillion in reserves yet carry $12.5 trillion in outstanding loans. Borrowers pay real interest on imaginary money, funneling nearly half a trillion dollars annually into bankers’ pockets.

This is why skyscrapers bear the names of banks. Bankers get rich on money that doesn’t belong to them. Our monetary system transfers wealth to urban elites who produce nothing. The interest they collect is a one-way street paved with gold.

The Fed and inflation

Since the Federal Reserve’s creation, the federal government has continuously eroded the U.S. dollar through reckless borrowing. We have now accumulated $38 trillion in debt, and inflation has soared to over 3,000% since 1913, eroding the purchasing power of ordinary Americans.

The tidal wave of newly created “magic money” inflates the total money supply, devaluing existing dollars and making everyday goods more expensive. The Federal Reserve’s shareholders profit because they collect interest on government-issued debt, while bureaucrats, lobbyists, and corporations tied to federal spending rake in the cash. The rest of us, however, pay for their legerdemain through higher taxes and the devaluation of our wealth.

In the last two years alone, the wealth of the bottom 50% of Americans grew by just $1.5 trillion, while the wealth of the top 1% gained $11.8 trillion. Empowered by its control over money, the wealthiest elite has consolidated ownership of media conglomerates, major industries, and political influence. Elites have rigged the system, ensuring that the magical goose laying their golden eggs is never threatened by ordinary people.

Boom-bust — a banker’s best friend

Massive government borrowing coincides with colossal money creation, triggering economic booms. Speculative bubbles form in stocks and real estate, but these booms always lead to busts.

When debt-laden consumers default on loans, the money supply shrinks, and the economy grinds to a halt. Bankers and politicians, armed with insider knowledge, navigate these cycles with ease — profiting from the economy’s expansion and collapse. Meanwhile, the average American suffers job losses, foreclosures, and financial ruin.

We do not elect the elites who control this system. We are simply the drones who ultimately pay for it through higher taxes, inflation, and economic instability. The top 0.1% in America now controls as much wealth as the bottom 90%.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816, “The banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.” He foresaw the threat posed by private banks controlling the nation’s currency, predicting they would “deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

It is time to end this system of financial serfdom. The power to issue money should be returned to the people where it rightfully belongs.

Attorneys Challenge Bank Of America’s Claims It Doesn’t Discriminate Against Conservatives

After President Trump publicly called out Bank of America’s CEO, the company strenuously denies it has ever refused service to Americans who disagree with Democrats.

How a Texas court ruling could crush the left’s ESG agenda



In a significant victory, a federal judge in Texas has ruled that employers and asset managers cannot use environmental, social, and governance factors in employee retirement accounts. If this ruling holds up — which is likely, given the conservative composition of the appellate court — it will dramatically shift the balance of power between corporations and their employees.

This decision represents one of the most substantial blows to the ESG agenda to date. Companies that have been steering employees into ESG-focused investments, which prioritize progressive values over financial returns, now face legal repercussions. Continuing such practices would directly violate federal law. The ruling forces companies to re-evaluate their commitment to ESG initiatives, and many may withdraw from these funds before the case even reaches the appellate court.

Watching these corporations squirm as they try to backtrack and avoid legal repercussions is ever so satisfying.

The impact of this ruling could very well be the beginning of the end for the ESG movement as it’s been pushed by elites.

In even better news, BlackRock, a major player in the ESG movement, has officially left the United Nations’ International Association of Asset Managers. This is a direct rebuke of the global push for ESG initiatives and a major sign that the tide is turning. In contrast to the Glasgow Net Zero Conference in which the Global Financial Alliance for Net Zero — an organization championed by global elites — was pushing for ESG to be a central focus, BlackRock’s departure from the group signals that even those who were at the forefront of this movement are starting to distance themselves.

But it doesn't stop there. Every major U.S. bank has now announced that they too are leaving the U.N.’s Association of Net Zero ESG Bankers, another key part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance. For years, we’ve been warning that ESG in banking was one of the primary ways elites like Biden, the Davos crowd, and others were planning to reset the world’s economy.

The tides have turned — and now those very same banks are running away from ESG, a powerful signal of things to come. They know they’re on the losing side, and they’re scared that a new administration will come down hard on them for their involvement in these globalist initiatives.

In another win, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a shocking new rule that, if it survives, would prohibit many financial institutions from de-banking customers based on their political or religious views, or even certain types of speech. While the rule is not as comprehensive as we need it to be, it’s a step in the right direction — and it includes concerns raised by our allies about the dangers of ESG. The Trump administration has promised to come down even harder on the banks with tougher rules, and this is a very good start.

Watching these corporations squirm as they try to backtrack and avoid legal repercussions is ever so satisfying. Some are running for cover while others are desperately trying to ingratiate themselves with the powers that be. It’s clear that the backbone of these companies is made of rubber, not steel. They don’t really believe in the ESG values they preach — they’re just playing the game to get in bed with the political elites.

Now that Trump is back in town, these corporations are showing their true colors. They never cared about their customers or the values they forced upon them. It was always about the power they could acquire through catering to those in power at the time.

No company should be afraid of the president of the United States. But they’re not afraid of Donald Trump. They’re afraid of the return of the rule of law. They know that fascistic public-private partnerships between the government and corporations are on the way out. That’s a victory for freedom and a victory for the American people.

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Biden’s fiscal failures loom over treasury nominee’s path



Thursday’s confirmation hearing for treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent carries immense importance, given the fragile state of America’s fiscal foundation. You would expect senators to focus on treasury-related questions. However, instead of addressing the consequences of Janet Yellen financing U.S. debt at the short end of the yield curve or the challenge of refinancing nearly $7 trillion in the coming months, senators chose to grandstand and indulge in self-serving rhetoric.

Bessent opened his statement by highlighting his “only in America” story of achieving the American dream and his determination to preserve it for future generations. He also emphasized the need to secure supply chains, shift from wasteful government spending to productive investments that grow the economy, and maintain tax cuts to prevent massive tax hikes on Americans.

Responding to one senator’s question, Bessent said he often relies on the principle 'no data, no opinion.'

One of the most encouraging aspects of the hearing was Bessent’s repeated focus on Main Street and small businesses. He acknowledged Wall Street’s strong performance in recent years and emphasized the need for a Main Street and small business-led recovery to drive growth and economic strength.

Bessent also recognized the excessive concentration in the U.S. banking system. He noted that regulations implemented after the Great Recession have burdened smaller community banks, hindering their formation and operations. These policies have also increased systemic risk by consolidating assets among larger financial institutions. His acknowledgment of the need for policies that prioritize Main Street over Wall Street is both refreshing and essential.

In response to a question from Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) about central bank digital currencies — a digital version of the U.S. dollar that could be controlled and programmed by the Federal Reserve and the government — Bessent expressed opposition. He sees no need for the United States to adopt a CBDC, a stance that likely reassures many Americans concerned about potential threats to individual freedoms.

Oddly, much of the discussion, particularly from the Democratic senators, was centered around tax policy versus spending, with the senators refusing to acknowledge their starring role in the overspending, that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased government revenue, or that collections are not a deficit driver — spending is.

We have a tough road ahead. The Biden administration has left the United States with a debt-to-GDP ratio exceeding 120% and a deficit at 6%-7% of GDP — levels typically seen during wartime, not in a period of “economic expansion.” Combined with a strong dollar, substantial foreign asset holdings, and other factors, returning to a sustainable and prosperous economic path will require careful execution.

Bessent brings extensive experience across Wall Street, central bank advisory roles, and other economic arenas, equipping him with the qualifications and temperament needed to navigate this uncertain terrain. Responding to one senator’s question, Bessent said he often relies on the principle “no data, no opinion.”

Bessent’s confirmation should proceed smoothly, but the real test lies ahead as he takes on the daunting task of stabilizing America’s financial foundation.

Report: Your Bank Might Be Spying On You For The Feds

Americans should be deeply concerned that our government and financial institutions are not only spying on us but also potentially abusing their power to target Americans for their political views.

FACT CHECK: Fact Checking Rachel Maddow’s Claim About Student Loans

Maddow made the claim during a recent episode of her show, 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' on MSNBC