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:
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
It’s Time For Trump To Play Hardball With Qatar
[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-13-at-3.31.35 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-13-at-3.31.35%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]President Trump has the leverage over Qatar. He must use it to demand accountability and insist on transparency.
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A brutal wake-up call from America’s most powerful banker
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase — one of the most powerful financial institutions on earth — issued a warning the other day. But it wasn’t about interest rates, crypto, or monetary policy.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, Dimon pivoted from economic talking points to something far more urgent: the fragile state of America’s physical preparedness.
We are living in a moment of stunning fragility — culturally, economically, and militarily. It means we can no longer afford to confuse digital distractions with real resilience.
“We shouldn’t be stockpiling Bitcoin,” Dimon said. “We should be stockpiling guns, tanks, planes, drones, and rare earths. We know we need to do it. It’s not a mystery.”
He cited internal Pentagon assessments showing that if war were to break out in the South China Sea, the United States has only enough precision-guided missiles for seven days of sustained conflict.
Seven days — that’s the gap between deterrence and desperation.
This wasn’t a forecast about inflation or a hedge against market volatility. It was a blunt assessment from a man whose words typically move markets.
“America is the global hegemon,” Dimon continued, “and the free world wants us to be strong.” But he warned that Americans have been lulled into “a false sense of security,” made complacent by years of peacetime prosperity, outsourcing, and digital convenience:
We need to build a permanent, long-term, realistic strategy for the future of America — economic growth, fiscal policy, industrial policy, foreign policy. We need to educate our citizens. We need to take control of our economic destiny.
This isn’t a partisan appeal — it’s a sobering wake-up call. Because our economy and military readiness are not separate issues. They are deeply intertwined.
Dimon isn’t alone in raising concerns. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has warned that China has already overtaken the U.S. in key defense technologies — hypersonic missiles, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence to mention a few. Retired military leaders continue to highlight our shrinking shipyards and dwindling defense manufacturing base.
Even the dollar, once assumed untouchable, is under pressure as BRICS nations work to undermine its global dominance. Dimon, notably, has said this effort could succeed if the U.S. continues down its current path.
So what does this all mean?
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mphillips007 via iStock/Getty Images
It means we are living in a moment of stunning fragility — culturally, economically, and militarily. It means we can no longer afford to confuse digital distractions with real resilience.
It means the future belongs to nations that understand something we’ve forgotten: Strength isn’t built on slogans or algorithms. It’s built on steel, energy, sovereignty, and trust.
And at the core of that trust is you, the citizen. Not the influencer. Not the bureaucrat. Not the lobbyist. At the core is the ordinary man or woman who understands that freedom, safety, and prosperity require more than passive consumption. They require courage, clarity, and conviction.
We need to stop assuming someone else will fix it. The next crisis — whether military, economic, or cyber — will not politely pause for our political dysfunction to sort itself out. It will demand leadership, unity, and grit.
And that begins with looking reality in the eye. We need to stop talking about things that don’t matter and cut to the chase: The U.S. is in a dangerously fragile position, and it’s time to rebuild and refortify — from the inside out.
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Majority of voters say economy 'STRONG' for the first time in nearly 4 years, now with Trump in charge
Polling conducted in the wake of President Donald Trump's "total reset" with China, his new tariff deal with the United Kingdom, and inflation's drop to a four-year low revealed on Monday years-high voter confidence in the strength of the economy and a healthy dip in voter pessimism regarding their personal financial situations.
According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 51% of voters — whose top issue altogether after price increases and inflation was the economy — said the economy was "strong." Last month, only 46% said so, and there hasn't been a majoritively positive response to this question since July 2021.
Fifty percent of voters expressed confidence the president's policies will lead to stronger economic growth.
Despite this perceived strength, 51% of respondents suggested the economy was nevertheless on the wrong track. When broken down by political affiliation, 72% of Republican respondents, 15% of Democratic respondents, and 28% of independent respondents alternatively said the economy was on the "right track."
Over the past few years, the percentage of Americans who said the country on the whole was on the "right track" dribbled around 30%. However, that number skyrocketed from 28% in January, when Trump took office again, to 42% the following month. It is now at 42% again after a dip in April.
'President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy.'
Last month, 45% of voters said their personal financial situation was getting worse. Pollsters found this month that such pessimism had dropped to 39%, while the percentage of respondents who said they were "just as well off" or that their situation was improving climbed four and two points, respectively.
"The majority of Trump's policies continue to see strong support especially on immigration and government efficiency, even though there is concern Trump has exceeded guardrails with executive orders and tariffs," Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/ Harris poll, said in a statement.
Penn added, "If he is able to successfully lower the price of prescription drugs and hold down the fort on inflation, he will be able to unlock 10% more of voters in his approval rating."
Steve Miran, chairman of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement to Blaze News, "The Harvard/Harris poll is a reflection of the fact that Americans know that President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy."
"The president's policies to preserve low tax rates and reduce them further, cut red tape, create energy abundance, and renegotiate America-last trade deals will combine to create a Trump economic boom — just like they did during his first term," continued Miran. "The best way to create jobs is to create incentives for businesses to hire and invest, and that's what the president's policies do."
'If it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike.'
While there is plenty of optimism around the poll results, entrepreneur and business expert Carol Roth told Blaze News that "it's tough to get a read on the consumer right now" and noted that "while the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll went into a slim majority, other consumer polls are near record lows."
"Inflation cooling has been a welcome trend for consumers, as has the tariff pause that led the market to recapture what was lost from the Liberation Day announcements," continued Roth. "But there are concerning signs with debt delinquencies rising."
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Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
When asked whether Congress' passage of the tax bill was critical to maintaining this confidence, Miran told Blaze News that "the One Big Beautiful tax bill is a critical part of this policy suite, and if it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike, the biggest in history. That's why it's absolutely essential that we get it over the line, and we will."
'We need deregulation and tax cut permanence.'
Eighty percent of respondents said the U.S. government "should move in the next few years" to balance the budget. When asked whether reductions in government spending or increases in taxing were the way to reduce the budget deficits, 78% signaled a desire for spending cuts.
"While getting more certainty and permanence with tax cuts is critical, the big beautiful bill needs a massive diet, and failure to substantially cut spending by the GOP could undo progress on inflation and worsen our already fragile fiscal foundation," said Roth. "We need deregulation and tax cut permanence as well as trade deals and the end of tariffs to engender more growth, as well as some serious fiscal responsibility from Congress to make sure that the economy doesn't get crushed by our ever growing debt burden."
The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 47% of respondents approved of the job that Trump was doing, with 87% of GOP voters approving and 83% of Democrats and 50% of independents disapproving.
The president received highest approval for his handling of immigration and on "returning America to its values," and 52% of respondents said he was doing a better job than his predecessor.
The Republican Party, meanwhile, enjoyed a positive approval rating of 52%, its highest approval rating since March 2023, whereas the Democratic Party, although no longer plumbing record approval lows, still remained 10 percentage points behind, bogged down in part by the 28% of Democrats who evidently don't like what their party is doing.
The White House did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment by publication time.
Editor's note: Carol Roth is a contributor to Blaze News.
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