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As 2022 is kicking off, America nears the first anniversary of Joe Bidens presidency. Following the tenures ambitious start, the last few months witnessed some serious tumult around the overall health of the United States economy, the administrations handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the tense debate around Bidens opus magnum the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better infrastructure legislation plan.

But even as the Democrats ability to maintain undivided power after the 2022 midterm elections can raise doubts, the partys prevailing view of crypto has become more consolidated than ever. The incumbent presidents party will be setting the tone of the regulatory discussion for at least three more years, so a thorough look at the fundamental premises and potential directions of its emerging crypto stance is in order.

The path that mainstream Democrat thinking on crypto has traveled over the last three years is perfectly captured by an anecdote featuring two crypto-related public statements made by a Clinton. One is by the 42nd U.S. president, Bill Clinton, then 72, who said at Ripples Swell Conference in October 2018 that the "permutations and possibilities" of blockchain were "staggeringly great.

Three years later, speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, Bills wife and ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, though calling the cryptocurrencies an interesting technology, warned about their power to undermine the U.S. dollar and destabilize nations perhaps starting with small ones but going much larger.

This startling difference in opinion within the power couple reflects the recent evolution of the Democratic party, itself from a third way, business, tech and finance-friendly centrism of its 1990s generation to the newfound statism with a heavy emphasis on redistributional justice and big government projects. By current standards, the former first lady sounded rather balanced in comparison to her party comrade Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has famously lashed out at the crypto market after the volatility outburst in early September:

Warren berated crypto on numerous occasions, calling it a fourth-rate alternative to real currency that is unsuitable as a medium of exchange; a lousy investment, that has no consumer protection; and a tool that makes many illegal activities easier.

The negative sentiment is largely shared by Senator Sherrod Brown, which is arguably even more unsettling given his status as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Browns opening statements at Congress hearings have never been amicable towards crypto. Their overall spirit can be summarized in the introduction that opened the July hearing entitled Cryptocurrencies: What are they good for?

Brown blamed the cottage industry of decentralized financial schemes for an attempt to create a parallel financial system with no rules, no oversight, and no limits, calling it a shady, diffuse network of online funny money, with nothing democratic or transparent about it. The lawmaker repeatedly rejected the notion that crypto could be an alternative to legacy money last time at a December Congress hearing:

Its not all dark, though. One figure that represents a more moderate, if not pragmatic approach to crypto Congresswoman Maxime Waters would also play a major role in any future outcome for the industry. As a chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, she initiated the Digital Assets Working Group of Democratic Members with a mission to ensure responsible innovation in the cryptocurrency and digital asset space and meet with leading regulators, advocates, and other experts on how these novel products and services are reshaping our financial system.

Related: Lines in the sand: US Congress is bringing partisan politics to crypto

Sen. Waters has publicly recognized that Americans are increasingly making financial decisions using digital assets every day, and affirmed that her Committee will explore the promise of digital assets in providing faster payments, instantaneous settlements and lower transaction fees for remittances.

The good news is that underneath the redoubtable oratory, there is a keyword: regulation. It is clear, at this point, that a China-style total war on crypto isnt an option in the U.S. Therefore, what drives the heated activity of congressional committees and federal agencies in recent months is a clear intention of the Democratic establishment to sort out the rules of the game before the next presidential election.

Part of this effort of the Biden administration is the launch of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, a superhero team composed of the SEC, CFTC, OCC, FDIC and Federal Reserve System executives, with the secretary of the Treasury Department leading the group.

So far, the key product of the Working Group is a 26-page report on stablecoins, which advises Congress to designate some stablecoin-related activities such as payment, clearing and settlement as systemically important (which would inevitably lead to a tighter oversight) and limit stablecoin issuance to insured depository institutions, i.e., banks.

As in the pre-Biden era, the main problem lies with the core classification of digital assets. The PWG report failed to propose a novel interpretation and give precedence to a single regulatory body, thus perpetuating a situation where a variety of regulators oversee different types of crypto-related activity.

In October, Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a member of the Democratic Party, claimed that as much as 60% of digital assets can be classified as commodities, which amounts to proposing that the agency become the lead U.S. cryptocurrency regulator. He also further stated that his agency, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission, would likely need a regulatory structure for both securities and commodities. How exactly that would help the ongoing patchwork approach to regulation is still a mystery.

There are several reasons to believe that the largely proclamatory activity of 2021 will be followed up by some real action in the following year. The first is the general idealistic mindset of U.S. Democrats. For example, the drive to aggressively regulate Big Tech is part and parcel of this mindset.

While President Barack Obama and some regulators worked alongside Google and Twitter to facilitate the growth of internet businesses, Joe Bidens administration came to power amid the wave of popular anxiety over international cyberattacks, personal data leaks, Metas crisis mismanagement and the overall outsize influence on the political process accumulated by tech goliaths.

While Meta and Google have been fighting federal and state regulators in courts over allegations of anticompetitive conduct for a while, Bidens team also pledged to hold tech companies to account for toxic speech they host and strengthen policing anti-competitive practices.

However, in 2021, we havent witnessed any significant policy steps in this direction. Neither of the two major legislative proposals Amy Klobuchars bill, which would bar big tech platforms from favoring their own products and services, and a bill by House Democrats that seeks to remove some protections afforded tech companies by Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act has become law.

The second reason behind the Democratic rush to put crypto within the regulatory perimeter is pragmatic: The Biden administration and its allies on Capitol Hill need money. Bidens first-term agenda relies heavily on ambitious Roosveltian infrastructure projects. While the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act managed to get bipartisan support and was signed into law on November 5, the Build Back Better Act, which now hangs by a thread after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin had announced his opposition to the current draft, would cost nearly $2 trillion.

By some estimates, should it make it to the presidents desk, the spending program would increase the deficit by $360 billion over 10 years, making it urgent to raise more tax revenue. This is what makes a thriving crypto industry an important battlefield for Democrats, who see the possibility of harvesting some cash from it and an urgency to prevent tax evasion via digital tools.

Theres no doubt that the Biden administration will continue to pursue a strict regulatory agenda in 2022. We will see more Congressional hearings next year, but even more consequential negotiations will be taking place behind closed doors, where Democrats will have to finally decide whether the SEC, CFTC or any other body should dominate crypto oversight. Despite Sharrod Browns recent with or without Congress remarks, it is also hard to believe that Republicans will let their opponents single-handedly decide the fate of the industry.

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How the Democratic Party didnt stop worrying and fearing crypto in 2021 - Cointelegraph

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took a shot at progressive Democrats this month, appearing to blame them for the inability of the Democrat-controlled Congress to "get things done," and suggesting they could be the cause of potential party losses in the 2022 midterm elections.

During an interview with MSNBC's Willie Geist that took place earlier this month and aired in part on Thursday, Clinton implored Democrats to start thinking about the party's ability to win elections overall and not just in deep-blue districts where they were assured victory.

Geist turned the interview's attention to the topic, asking Clinton what she saw as the current state of the Democratic Party.

Hillary Clinton called for Democrats to think more broadly about electoral strategy and not just what worked in deep-blue districts. (MSNBC)

"I think that it is a time for some careful thinking about what wins elections, and not just in deep-blue districts where a Democrat and a liberal Democrat, or so-called progressive Democrat, is going to win," Clinton said. "I understand why people want to argue for their priorities. Thats what they believe they were elected to do."

HILLARY CLINTON IS BEGGING DEMOCRATS TO CONSIDER HER AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BIDEN: DEVINE

"Look, I'm all about having vigorous debate. I think its good, and it gives people a chance to be part of the process," she added. "But, at the end of the day it means nothing if we dont have a Congress that will get things done, and we dont have a White House that we can count on to be sane and sober and stable and productive."

Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin speaks during his election night party at a hotel in Chantilly, Virginia, Nov. 3, 2021. (REUTERS/ Jonathan Ernst)

Clinton's comments come on the tail of a Republican upset in Virginia's gubernatorial election, as well as amid a massive wave of Democratic House members announcing their pending retirements.

Tensions between progressive and moderate Democrats also appeared to reach an all-time high this month as President Biden's signature Build Back Better agenda hit a wall. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., infuriated liberal colleagues after he announced he would not support the massive spending bill passed by Democrats in the House, effectively killing it with all 50 Senate Republicans also in opposition.

HILLARY CLINTON TEARS UP READING WOULD BE 2016 VICTORY SPEECH

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks at a press conference outside his office on Capitol Hill on Oct. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Manchin spoke on the debt limit and the infrastructure bill. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Progressives blasted Manchin after his announcement and called on Biden to instead use executive action to implement parts of the legislation.

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Hillary Clinton takes shot at progressive Democrats, suggests ...

A California man who supported Hillary Clinton for president received a maximum sentence of 35 years to life in prison this week after being convicted of killing his bandmates wife in an argument over the 2016 election, according to a report.

The slain woman was holding the couples 2-year-old child at the time of the Jan. 10, 2017, incident, the Press-Enterprise of Southern California reported.

After revealing he had supported Clinton, defendant John Kevin McVoy Jr., 40, was told by the bandmate, "Get the f--- out of my house," according to prosecutors.

HILLARY CLINTON IS BEGGING DEMOCRATS TO CONSIDER HER AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BIDEN: DEVINE

McVoy then fired a shot at the bandmate, identified as Victor Garcia, striking him in the head, the Press-Enterprise reported. Garcia spent months in a coma afterward and required two brain surgeries plus physical therapy to relearn basic life skills, the report said.

A second shot struck Garcias wife, Susan Garcia, killing her, while one of the other bandmates was trying to disarm McVoy, the report said. The child was not hurt.

Two other bandmates were at the Long Beach home for a practice session at the time of the shooting, according to the report.

During the trial, which ended in November with McVoys conviction, his defense attorney had argued that the defendant shot Garcia in self-defense, claiming Garcia had made threats to McVoy and grabbed a can opener that McVoy thought may have been a knife, the Press-Enterprise reported.

Hillary Clinton is seen in Paris, June 30, 2021. (Reuters)

The jury deliberated for four days, acquitting McVoy on two counts of attempted murder regarding Victor Garcia and the child but finding him guilty of murdering Susan Garcia, the report said.

McVoy apologized to the family and claimed he felt remorseful about the shootings.

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"I think about this every day," he said, according to the Press-Enterprise.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laura Laesekce sentenced McVoy to 15 years to life for killing Susan Garcia and to 20 years for a firearm enhancement, the newspaper reported.

The case was already underway before liberal Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon issued a mandate against enhanced gun charges, the Washington Examiner reported.

In addition, he was ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to the court, with a separate restitution hearing to be held March 1 regarding the victims funeral and medical expenses, the report said.

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Hillary Clinton voter gets 35-to-life for killing bandmates wife in argument over 2016 election: report - Fox News

a stripping news, for him channel 5, On the legendary December 30 episode Marco Camisani Calzulari He talked about some fake political news that was launched in the middle of the election campaign and spread contradictory conspiracy theories, almost absurd, but unfortunately some believe.

Videos on this topic

One of these relates to my past Barack Obama. And the last thing he wanted Hillary Clinton Take a tour cannibals. A pizzeria could have been identified as a place where people who were part of this fake network were found.

Here is a video of Striscia la Notizia

Besides, we know very well, there are many Rumors about Covid ani vaccines. One of these news claims that a chip Thanks to that in the not too distant future we will all remain under strict control. This is also clearly nonsense. But many still think so. In short, watch out for scams and also pay attention to what you share on social networks.

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Take off the news, "Hillary Clinton involved in cannibal network." The draft that shocked the former first lady - Libero Quotidiano -...

Stack of books, blurry background

Political readers were treated to a number of notable titles this year centering around some of the top news stories of 2021, including the early months of President Biden's administration, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

From Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's eye-opening reporting in "Peril" to Hillary Clinton's political fiction debut, here are some of the most memorable political books of 2021.

"Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could" by Adam Schiff

Rep. Adam Schiff's (D-Calif.) book, which was first announced in April and published in October, details his perspective of former President Trump's first impeachment as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee and his view of where American democracy stands now.

In "Midnight in Washington," Schiff writes about his front row seat to the probe that stemmed from a whistleblower report following a phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president and resulted in the House adopting two articles of impeachment against Trump. Schiff uses his experiences to argue that the Trump presidency left lasting damage on American institutions and the Republican Party that will take years to rebuild.

"For all his cynicism and shrewdness, Trump could not have come so close to succeeding if his party had stood up to him, if good people hadn't been silent, or worse, allowed themselves to become complicit," Schiff wrote in a statement announcing the book. "I wanted to relate the private struggles, the triumphs of courage, but more often, the slow surrender of people I worked with and admired to the shameful immorality of a president who could not be trusted."

The congressman traces his inside account all the way to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, leaving readers with big questions about the status of democracy in America.

"Peril" by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

Story continues

In arguably the biggest political book of the year, The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Robert Costa interviewed more than 200 people and crafted more than 6,000 transcript pages into a striking picture of the Trump administration, the 2020 election, the early months of President Biden's presidency, the Pentagon and Congress.

The book, which features many eyewitness accounts and transcripts of secret calls, emails, diaries and other personal documents, included revelations that set off fireworks in politics and the media this year. Woodward and Costa detailed claims that Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley called his counterpart in Beijing to offer assurances after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) referred to Trump as a "fading brand," and Biden ignored warnings from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, among others.

"Peril" is the third book Woodward has written detailing insider accounts of the Trump presidency, following "Fear: Trump in the White House" and "Rage."

"While Justice Sleeps" by Stacey Abrams

The first of two novels on this list, Stacey Abrams made her political fiction debut this year with a thriller that follows a clerk for a Supreme Court Justice who discovers evidence of a possible conspiracy involving some of Washington's biggest power players.

"While Justice Sleeps" centers around Avery Keene, a law clerk for Justice Howard Wynn, who learns she is to serve as Wynn's legal guardian and power of attorney after he slips into a coma. Keene learns that Wynn was secretly researching a very controversial case before the court and that Wynn had reason of suspecting a dangerous conspiracy unfolding in Washington.

"A decade ago, I wrote the first draft of a novel that explored an intriguing aspect of American democracy - the lifetime appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court," Abrams said in a statement announcing the book news in 2020, just after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and President Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to replace her. "As an avid consumer of legal suspense novels and political thrillers, I am excited to add my voice into the mix."

It was announced in May that an NBCUniversal unit acquired the rights for a small-screen adaptation of "While Justice Sleeps."

Abrams, who has been a vocal advocate for federal voting rights legislation and announced her second bid for the Georgia governorship earlier this month, is no stranger to fiction - she penned three romance novels nearly two decades ago under a pseudonym that will hit bookshelves under her own name in 2022. She is also the author of two nonfiction books, "Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Real Change" and "Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America."

"Navalny: Putin's Nemesis, Russia's Future?" By Jan Matti Dollbaum, Morvan Lallouet and Ben Noble

In "Navalny," the authors examine one of the most talked about world figures of 2021 and what his story says about modern Russia.

The book details the story of Alexei Navalny, whose return to Russia in January of this year and subsequent detention after being poisoned sparked massive protests calling for his release. The authors probe not only Navalny's story - and his showdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin - but his complicated image as a political figure, which ranges from democratic hero to traitor of his country.

"Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency" by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes

"Lucky" traces Biden's unlikely road to the White House that culminated in the 2020 election and examines how he pulled off a win that almost no one, including many members of his own party, believed he could achieve.

The Hill's Amie Parnes and NBC's Jonathan Allen include insight from both Democratic and Republican key players to unveil the full story of how the race unfolded. The book features detailed accounts of the race's major turning points, from securing the endorsement of House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), to the Black voters in South Carolina who saved Biden's campaign when it was on the verge of imploding, and how Biden managed to successfully steer his bid through the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.

"Inside Biden's campaign, there was a sense that, for the first time in ten months, the political winds had shifted away from his face," reads an excerpt about Biden getting Clyburn's endorsement. "For all of the breaks that had gone Biden's way, there had been only sporadic interruptions in a firestorm of failure. He had survived getting in the race late, campaign infighting, pathetic fundraising, and finishing fourth, fifth, and a distant second in the first three states on the primary calendar. He had benefited from the spiking of the Iowa poll, the caucus debacle, debate-night drubbings of Buttigieg and Bloomberg in consecutive states, and so much more.

"And yet the Clyburn endorsement was different from the rest: Biden had worked for it over the course of years-developing a relationship with Clyburn and his late wife, tending to a Charleston dredging project as vice president, and visiting the state for as long as he could remember."

Allen and Parnes are also the authors of "Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign."

"State of Terror" by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

Hillary Clinton's fictional co-writing debut with novelist Louise Penny centers around a new U.S. presidential administration that is faced with an international conspiracy posing a serious terror threat following a tumultuous time in American politics.

"The book started really out of a conversation that Louise and I had," Clinton said in an interview just before the novel was released in October.

"I asked, 'What's your nightmare?'" Penny said.

"State of Terror" begins with a new administration whose president appoints one of his political enemies, former media conglomerate head Ellen Adams, to be secretary of state. When the U.S. is faced with a serious terror threat, Adams, her team and young foreign service officer Anahita Dahir have to work together to defeat the conspiracy planned out by an international cohort that has taken advantage of an out-of-touch American government.

"This is a wake-up call for anybody who cares about America, the world," Clinton said.

"Chief of Staff: Notes from Downing Street" by Gavin Barwell

In "Chief of Staff," Gavin Barwell provides a riveting inside account of his time as Downing Street chief of staff to former Prime Minister Theresa May. Barwell became May's chief of staff just after the 2017 general election, when the former prime minister lost her overall majority in Britain's Parliament, and became her righthand man for the next two years.

Barwell's sheds light on the significant transformations within British politics during the last few years and on May as a leader during a time of political strife in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum. He writes about being with her during every moment ranging from meeting Trump to responding to the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy and being at the center of Brexit negotiations with leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.

"The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order" by Rush Doshi

"The Long Game" focuses on China's emergence as a power player on the world stage, how the country has achieved that status and what the U.S. should do about it. Doshi's book comes at a pivotal time as China, the first American adversary in over a century to reach 60 percent of U.S. GDP, is quickly growing into a global superpower.

Doshi draws on Chinese government documents and leaked materials to reveal a modern history of China's political prowess since the end of the Cold War. The author details the country's carefully executed strategy to remove the U.S. from the global pecking order and explores how various major events, including the 2008 financial crisis, the 2016 election and the coronavirus pandemic, have altered China's view of and response to American power.

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The top political books of 2021 - Yahoo News