The Honorable French Hill
1533 Longworth House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Hill:
Separate letter addressed to [Tom Emmer and Bill Foster]
These are truly uncharted times and I pray this letter finds you and your family well.
What we are witnessing right alongside the world as we navigate COVID–19 is just how vulnerable our health systems, supply chains and economies really are when facing an unseen enemy like a novel biological virus. While Governments and central banks are taking warranted (and some unwarranted) steps to buttress the jolt, I cannot help but compare how the Corona pandemic mirrors the dark web of cyber pathogens, malware and even certain types of private digital monetary species. It is clear that these developments can undermine the long-term health, stability and sovereignty of the U.S. economy.
An inconvenient reality is that financial innovation outside the U.S. has substantially outpaced what U.S. companies can offer under the law, foreshadowing another sputnik moment. The critical question remains: how will we ensure long-term stability and leadership in commerce, monetary policy and efforts to reign-in the escalating de-dollarization and dematerialization of the global banking system? A system which is increasingly being challenged (and fragmented) by a host of industry upstarts but also by the policies of State actors like China..
My name is John Karantonis. As a cofounder of a U.S. based FinTech company I feel it is my duty and obligation to express urgency on the matter of a “tokenized” digital dollar alternative. A sovereign digital dollar blockchain will unlock a more secure, fluid and smart monetary infrastructure for the U.S., simultaneously enabling deep local economies and more elastic global trade. Our team is open and willing to offer advisory and technical resources to the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and task force members. The below summary outlines recent conversations with your staff and Congressman Tom Emmer’s (R-MN) Legislative Director.
Picture: John Karantonis President of iBBT
To read the whole letter you can download here