By Trish Regan
WITH RECENT MAINSTREAM SUPPORT, THE CRYPTO CRAZE COULD BECOME THE CURRENCY OF THE FUTURE... BUT DOES THAT CONTRADICT ITS UNDERGROUND ROOTS?
thought that stresses the importance of the action of individuals. When I interviewed him in 2012, it was clear to me that he had spent a lot of time thinking about the role of money and its value in our society. Charlie was one of the first to welcome the idea of a currency that was free from central-bank intervention. He’s also had to take some lumps along the way... Charlie, who created the now-defunct BitInstant exchange platform as a kind of payment service, was tagged by the Feds for aiding and abetting unlicensed money transmission, and got two years in prison. Bitcoin is a real headache for regulators. But interestingly, it’s still here. Despite attempts by governments around the world to regulate Despite attempts by governments around the world to regulate it, and its own massive fluctuations
My first real introduction to bitcoin was back in 2012. I’d been following the cryptocurrency for a couple years, reading about it here and there... always intrigued. And when I learned a New York City nightclub intended to accept bitcoin as payment – making it the first brick-and- mortar institution to ever do this – I knew it was big news. I called my camera crew and hustled everyone over to the city’s industrial lounge EVR club on a rainy Sunday night so we could be there to witness bitcoin history. This was the first time bitcoin was being accepted as payment in any kind of physical transaction and exchange. It was revolutionary and super cool... except, of course, to the Feds... which the owner of the establishment quickly learned. EVR’s proprietor was a 24-year-old entrepreneur named Charlie Shem. A thoughtful and enthusiastic bitcoin pioneer, Charlie believed strongly in the Austrian school of economics – a form of economic
in value, bitcoin is still a major player and may grow even bigger in the coming years.
American Consequences
27
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online