According to a disclosure, Ben Labolt owns at least one bitcoin and will not be able to serve regarding issues related to former clients.
President Biden’s new communications director, Ben LaBolt, has between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of bitcoins according to a regular disclosure filed. Additionally, President Joe Biden has restricted LaBolt’s role in cases involving cryptocurrency and technology companies that LaBolt previously represented. The restrictions will apply to companies such as Meta Platforms, Haun Ventures and Shopify. LaBolt will, however, be permitted to advise on the president’s approach to regulating cryptocurrency and social media companies.
The restrictions placed on LaBolt are consistent with rules followed by other senior White House officials.
The latest White House economic report that discussed Bitcoin for the most part negated the benefits of the technology, while simultaneously reflecting on the various properties that the administration says give the US dollar its value. While the latter was not entirely wrong, the former distorted Bitcoin’s fundamental value.
This came shortly after the release of a roadmap that detailed the administration’s plan to investigate a US CBDC and how it might be implemented. The same report also touched on various challenges the White House sees in the cryptocurrency industry, primarily in reaction to the collapse of FTX in 2022.
Beyond that, regulatory pressures from different agencies under the current administration have led major companies in the United States to potentially consider a move overseas, including Coinbase, America’s largest exchange. The United States would be much better off if the Biden administration realized the industry’s ability to create jobs and economic progress, as well as the inherent benefits of Bitcoin adoption as a whole.
