The CFTC has come out with a "Do no harm" approach to cryptocurrency, which, in the statement outlined by J. Christopher Giancarlo, ends up being, not only a breath of fresh air in the clarity and logic of its text, but actually quite auspicious toward the prospect of a crypto future. This statement should take the edge off of fears about the cryptocurrency market being waylayed by the most powerful government in the world.
https://www.banking.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/d6c0f0b6-757d-4916-80fd-a43315228060/A2A6C1D8DDBB7AD33EBE63254D80E9E3.giancarlo-testimony-2-6-18b.pdf
Now, Giancarlo's statement outlined the excellent potential of crypto, and highlighted the idea that innovation must be nurtured and not stifled. He also pointed out the fact that there is, and will be money rackets within the space, and that the government should relegate itself to searching out swindles, not stifling innovation.
As an individual that is sympathetic to hardcore anarchist and libertarian beliefs, I buy into the 'conspiracy' theories which describe the state SIMPLY as a mechanism for maintaining oppression (of the poor by the rich). However, we see here a crack in this theory: the government coming out as quite sympathetic to a market that is the darling of radical libertarians. Yes, Giancarlo speaks against the idea of a 'free for all' but this is not a restriction of freedom, it is a maximization of it. Government is not always bad... This brings me to Craig Grant:
Scammers and swindlers, such as Craig Grant, like to peddle their wares under the concept of 'Freedom.' They always conflate the freedom to perform victim-less actions with the freedom to steal from people. Thus, when Craig was trying to justify his promotion of the bitconnect scam, he often said (paraprase): 'This is crypto man! this is freedom! What he fails to mention is the difference between freedom and chaos. Maximal freedom (or anarchy) requires a particular context or frame, to prevent it from falling into the opposite: oppression by the most violent, ruthless, and devious.
Anyway, the statement by Giancarlo highlighted a striking example of how 'government' can help maximize freedom, while the freemarket (understood wrongly or in bad faith) can undermine freedom.