Is it possible that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies get so big with time that governments around the world feel threatened? Is it possible that they become so scared that they ultimately decide to come after our assets and stop all trading activities everywhere? According to Jesse Powell, the CEO of popular cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, they could certainly try.

Jesse Powell Is Warning Crypto Investors

Several financial regulators over the past few months – including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde – have warned the people and their governments that bitcoin is nothing but a haven for crime. That the world’s number one digital currency by market cap will attract terrorist financiers and money launderers and that anyone looking to get involved in the asset could potentially bring illicit activity to themselves and their operations.

Now, in a new interview, Jesse Powell is warning traders that there will likely be a time when governments and regulators around the world seek to hunker down on crypto activity across the board, and that the time to protect one’s assets has arrived. He states:

I think there could be some crackdown.

Already, we are beginning to see small signs here and there of governments being uncomfortable with how big crypto has gotten in the past year. For example, new regulations have been proposed that if passed, would require crypto exchanges and similar platforms to report all the names and addresses of individuals who engage in crypto transactions that exceed $3,000.

Powell really takes issue with measures such as these, saying they get in the way of current privacy laws and go against everything crypto stands for. He says:

Something like that could really hurt crypto and kind of kill the original use case, which was to just make financial services accessible to everyone.

In addition, countries such as India are now proposing a full ban on all crypto activity. The nation has had a very up-and-down relationship with digital assets, initially only barring crypto and blockchain companies from garnering standard financial services. Now, it appears lawmakers in India are looking to flat-out end all digital trading businesses and even imprison investors in certain cases.

Many Regulators Aren’t BTC Fans

However, Powell also suggests that it may be too late to do anything about cryptocurrency, and that if regulators were to try and pull any serious punches in the future, it would only make digital assets more attractive to potential investors, who would ultimately move around any rules set in place to increase and improve their digital portfolios. He says:

It might be too late. Maybe the genie is out of the bottle and just trying to ban it at this point would make it more attractive. It would certainly send a message that the government sees this as a superior alternative to their own currency.

The post Jesse Powell: Regulators May Come For Your Assets appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.