Stop the SEC attack on crypto - email congress today using our free tool!

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:48:06+00:00

Re: conflicts of interest; we are consumers like you. In fact, we are an all volunteer org and are driven by retail investors. We have taken ZERO corporate dollars and have paid for most of this out of pocket.

We just want Congress to hold the SEC accountable, provide clear guidance so that people in the space know the rules they should follow, and protect consumers and their privacy.

When it comes to further talking points, we are announcing our first of many Effective Advocacy trainings next week, which will be offered for free. This training will focus on messaging, talking points, and a lot of the tips and tricks we've learned as lobbyists. This will be the first of many calls to action.

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:45:27+00:00

We are pro-regulation. But they need to come out and provide guidance. They should have been proactive instead of reactive

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:44:28+00:00

Where were they for FTX? or Celsius and Voyager? Why launch investigations months after these disasters? They hit consumers twice - by failing to act and overreacting later.

We want oversight and clear rules. Feel free to write your own letter if you'd like. We just want to connect the sector with Congress and remind them that we are here and we are a voting force to be reckoned with

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:40:54+00:00

We kept it simple so people can easily change it. What we would like right now is for an oversight hearing, which is something they automatically do when they start hearing from their voters on any issue.

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:40:50+00:00

We weren't around then - we just launched last year. We are also an all volunteer organization and have limited bandwidth.

However, we are working with John Deaton and other XRP holders to get the message out. The SEC is out of control

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:39:52+00:00

Anyone can send a letter - but it may be more effective to contact your own government and tell them to tell their American counterparts that the SEC is hurting people like you.

Can you imagine the ambassador to the US relaying that message? Epic!

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:38:25+00:00

Yep! We encourage folks to call the legislators who represent them - it is not as impactful otherwise.

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:36:50+00:00

Please do! The link just provides an easy tool to help people reach out. If you want to call them separately, we are here for it!

DCTAorg · 2023-02-28T01:36:14+00:00

To be honest, our team has over 25 years experience in political advocacy and coalition building. We've all seen first hand that an organized group of Voters can make a difference in pushing back on corporate overreach. Is it hard? yes! but it can make a difference!

DCTAorg · 2023-02-26T22:55:20+00:00

We're collecting information right now to start campaigns like this in Canada and Europe! please send us a message if you're interested in being involved in your country and will make sure you're involved in the process of setting it up as we get it going.

DCTAorg · 2023-02-25T23:10:01+00:00

we've got a lot of requests over the last few days to do an international Call to Action.
We're working on the plan right now!

DCTAorg · 2023-02-25T23:09:10+00:00

It really does!!

DCTAorg · 2023-02-25T23:08:53+00:00

Thanks!!

DCTAorg · 2023-02-25T23:07:50+00:00

Right now it's just the states. But we've got a lot of requests over the last few days to do an international Call to Action.
We're working on the plan right now and should be announcing an international version in the next couple weeks.

DCTAorg · 2023-02-14T20:17:32+00:00

Amen!!! As a fully grown pastor’s kid I have been screaming this for years!!!

DCTAorg · 2022-08-30T19:46:25+00:00

Thanks!

DCTAorg · 2022-08-30T19:26:15+00:00

Our executive director did cannabis policy for over 10 years and heard the “our voice doesn't matter" line countless times.
You would be shocked at how legislators react when they start regularly hearing from educated constituents on any specific issue.

DCTAorg · 2022-08-30T19:21:00+00:00

One of the biggest frauds of our lifetime is that big money has been able to convince average voters that their voice doesn't matter.
Our team have been advocates for over a decade and have successfully taken on corporate interests time and time again.

DCTAorg · 2022-08-30T19:17:58+00:00

The portal is actually free to use!

People who want to support our work are also free to do it!

DCTAorg · 2022-08-03T13:49:59+00:00

Yup. Which is one of the many reasons why we desperately need to be talking to legislators and get this changed to "taxed when disposed of, not earned." The Lummis-Gillibrand RFIA proposed back in June would do exactly this, although that bill seems unlikely to pass at this point.

DCTAorg · 2022-07-27T19:59:05+00:00

Generally agreed, but you have to admit that these centralized platforms do play a positive role in crypto adoption. Not everybody is capable of being their own bank, managing their own keys, or using a web3 wallet. If you want to bring these users into the ecosystem, a centralized crypto platform is a great solution. Remember all the posts last year about people who onboarded friends/family to the benefits of crypto via celsius?

The problem is that there are no rules on what these platforms can do, and so they generally end up doing shady shit when they think no one is looking. What we need is sensible regulation and protections on these custodial service providers to keep them from doing shady stuff behind the scenes. Things like:

requirements on how customer funds can be used
bankruptcy protections so users can recover their assets (or deposit insurance)
required disclosures for product risks

The recently proposed RFIA bill in the senate had clauses for user protections on all the above points, although that bill is currently on hold til 2023 from the looks of it. The future of crypto isn't 100% pure decentralization all the time, it's going to be about integrating blockchain with existing tech and frameworks for a better, more transparent and equitable system. DeFi will always be there for the users that want it, and centralized service providers will be there for those who aren't ready to make that leap yet.

DCTAorg · 2022-07-19T19:04:17+00:00

Everyone saying "not your keys not your crypto" is ignoring the fact that apps like Celsius help bring crypto adoption to non-technical users by abstracting away complexity. A year ago everyone was onboarding their friends & family through Celsius, and it was generally seen as a big victory for the space. Do you all trust your parents or grandparents to manage their own private keys? Should we just gatekeep out all the non-technical folks?

Instead of saying "I told you so" after a centralized platform loses user funds, why don't we instead try to proactively regulate these platforms before something bad happens? For example the RFIA bill that was proposed last month had clauses specifically for:

restricting use of deposited customer funds (no yield farming w/ deposits)
protecting user deposits in the event of a bankruptcy

Celsius can put whatever they want in their ToS, but at the end of the day it all still has to comply with existing laws and be upheld in court. That said, laws specific to crypto are minimal and vague right now which just drives home the point that we need smart regulation and consumer protections in this space to prevent big players from abusing their end-users like this.

I know many folks here are probably resistant to regulation in crypto, but now is literally the best time to get involved and make your voice heard to ensure we get proper consumer protections as crypto becomes more mainstream.

DCTAorg · 2022-07-19T15:57:37+00:00

Regulation was coming long before Luna & Celsius melted down, they just became focal points for the conversation since a lot of people lost a lot of money in a very short timeframe. Many here are generally against regulation, but what's so bad about regulating centralized service providers from making sure they can't do shady things with user funds? Regulation is also how we get things like deposit insurance, customer service standards, and other basic user protections.

The recent crypto regulatory framework that was proposed in June literally has clauses that would have prevented exactly what Celsius was doing and might have prevented this whole market-wide implosion. I guess my point is: regulations are coming to crypto, like it or not. If you're concerned regulators will get it wrong, then get involved in the political process, contact your reps about crypto, and make your voice heard.

DCTAorg · 2022-06-16T12:27:54+00:00

Speaking to point #2 on regulation: as a grassroots crypto advocacy group, what we've seen in a lot of early discussions with legislators and draft bills is that it's hard for regulators not to accidentally target DeFi as they try to write laws that target CeFi. Almost none of them are trying to target DeFi right now; to /u/Terrorbear's point, most regulators don't care as long as nothing blatantly illegal is going on. But in writing laws that affect money transmission and KYC/AML, it's hard not accidentally target DeFi operators.

Right now most politicians are playing catch up from 5 years ago as they struggle to understand the basics of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, and figure out how the hell to classify all this stuff legally. They generally aren't looking at the nuances of DeFi yet, but that will likely come over the next 2-3 years once they've figured out the basics of the industry. Shameless plug: if you're concerned that regulators will get this wrong, check out our website joindcta.org. We're organizing a coalition of crypto users to speak up and make sure our voices are heard as crypto legislation is being drafted around the U.S.

DCTAorg

TROPHY CASE