According to a new op-ed by Chris Larsen – the co-founder and executive chair of Ripple – the United States is losing the tech war against China and other nations.
Chris Larsen: China Holds a Strong Position
Ripple is presently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. According to Larsen, nations such as China are way ahead when it comes to cryptocurrencies and are potentially putting lots of money into ensuring miners have everything they need to stay ahead of the game. In his op-ed, Larsen states:
At least 65 percent of cryptocurrency mining is concentrated in China, which means the Chinese government has the majority needed to wield control over those protocols and can effectively block or reverse transactions.
This is dangerous in the sense that China could potentially keep itself on top by approving only certain types of crypto transactions and stopping others from going through. This could also shift bitcoin and crypto more towards a centralized nature, which would ultimately mean that it’s working in the opposite direction of what it was intended to do.
However, the University of Cambridge begs to differ when it comes to Larsen’s findings, claiming that the 65 percent ratio is not fully representative of who’s in control. While Larsen cites certain articles and studies that show China as being a dominant force in the mining community, these sources do not necessarily show the mining power stationed in areas such as Washington D.C., Russia, New York or Canada, all of which have proven to be major bitcoin and crypto mining hubs over the past few years.
Still, Larsen appears bent on spreading the word that Americans should be afraid that they’re losing their status to the Chinese. His article reads:
It’s not hard to imagine a dystopian future. A U.S. defense payment to an ally could be blocked or reversed.
China is one of the few nations to move forward on a national digital currency. The asset is currently being tested by several American businesses including Starbucks and Subway, and while the currency has stirred controversy regarding its intentions, regulators have sworn up and down that the asset will not be used for speculation, nor will it be used to spy on people’s spending habits.
Get Rid of Unnecessary Rules
By contrast, the United States has only discussed the notion of releasing a nation-issued digital currency, though not much has emerged from these talks.
Larsen suggests that if regulators are going to garner a broader idea of what crypto and blockchain can and should be doing for the U.S., they need to station themselves in Silicon Valley so they can see firsthand how businesses are pushing the technology forward. He also believes that there are too many present regulations getting in the way of further blockchain development, and that so long as these are in place, the U.S. will remain behind.