To write this article, I have to admit to being a pretty big nerd. So I will just get it out in the open. I read a lot about the old west. I have probably read 50 books on the city of Tombstone and the shootout at the OK Corral alone. (And to be honest, I just wanted to write about the old west for fun.) So let's dig into how the western area of the United States was settled in the second half of the 1800s.
How did the “Wild West" regulate itself? There were some forts built by the federal government to help keep the peace with the native tribes in the late 1800’s. The soldiers in these forts, though, rarely got involved in the disputes or law enforcement in the towns that were popping up around the west throughout the period after the Civil War. In fact, the soldiers often caused more trouble in the towns than they solved when they were there.
The federal government was also vital in the statehood of emerging territories and in appointing some of the high-level officials of territories that were not yet states. So, Washington was not completely left out in the settling of the west, but, as for taming the Wild West, that was left to those that were actually moving into the area. Lawmen were appointed by the local citizens. Even then, in larger cities and wild cow towns, there were never more than a handful of officers.
Vigilante justice or a posse of citizens made up a portion of the security of towns, as well. The idea that one man or a gang of renegades could terrorize a town as portrayed in movies was not an actual occurrence. Most of the people settling the old west were ex-soldiers from the civil war and would have no problem protecting themselves from “badmen.” Like today, most shootings and violence were between people on the wrong side of the law already. Most towns, if large enough, were separated and the criminal aspect stayed in their own area.
The biggest contributor to the settling of the west was not government or regulations, it was commerce. Whether it was cattle companies that started to fence off the area, banks that needed safety or regular people starting businesses, they all needed themselves and their customers to feel safe. (Banks usually turned to the private Pinkerton detective agency for help against robberies, not the government.) This was achieved by local communities increasing laws against gambling, prostitution, drug and gun use. Schools and churches were built with local funds. The biggest movement, though, was the general understanding that to become viable, communities had to regulate themselves and become stable without outside help, and that is exactly what happened in town after town. If a community did not make this move, they soon died out as respectable people moved on. (One final note, today's Chicago gun violence surpasses the level of gun violence of the old west. The city had 461 shootings in the month of July, but sure, Crypto needs to be tamed.)
Now, why did I just write all that about the old west? Well, Gary Gensley, the chair of the SEC, brought it up first:
“This asset class is rife with fraud, scams and abuse in certain applications,” Gensler told a global conference. “We need additional congressional authorities to prevent transactions, products and platforms from falling between regulatory cracks.“
He invoked the term “Wild West” in describing the crypto world. Maybe he is right, but I would contend that if he is, cryptocurrency is still in the stages of regulating itself. Figuring out what works, how to deal with bad elements and separating the “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.” (See what I did there, that is an old western movie.)
This is not to say government should not tax actual gains in crypto converted to fiat or chase down money-launderers. It is saying that too much interference of an entity that is still new is sure to handcuff it in a way that won’t allow it to reach its full potential.
I wont argue if you say this who article was pointless. I will just say, "I have not yet begun to defile myself." Go watch Tombstone if that reference is lost on you.
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