No,
U.S.
Senator
Elizabeth
Warren,
the
Massachusetts
Democrat
who
typically
antagonizes
the
blockchain
industry,
has
not
had
a
sudden
change
of
heart
on
Bitcoin.
Warren
has
fashioned
herself
as
one
of
blockchain’s
fiercest
critics
in
the
Senate,
spearheading
bills
like
last
year’s
Digital
Asset
Anti-Money
Laundering
Act
that
aimed
to
curb
the
ability
for
financial
institutions
to
transact
in
bitcoin
and
other
cryptocurrencies.
So
given
the
Senator’s
anti-Bitcoin
track
record,
it
came
as
a
surprise
this
week
when
she
appeared
to
sign
off
on
an
official
order
commanding
a
flag
be
flown
over
the
U.S.
Capitol
in
honor
of
pseudonymous
Bitcoin
creator
Satoshi
Nakamoto.
The
Bitcoin
community
immediately
seized
on
the
news,
recirculating
an
article
on
X
(formerly
Twitter)
from
Bitcoin
Magazine
celebrating
Warren’s
“sudden
embrace
of
Bitcoin.”
Look
a
little
closer,
however,
and
the
development
appears
to
be
little
more
than
a
clever
stunt
pulled
off
by
Bitcoin
supporters.
Although
some
credulous
commentators
celebrated
Warren’s
“endorsement,”
social
media
sleuths
quickly
pointed
out
that
anyone
can,
for
a
fee,
fill
out
a
form
on
the
Senator’s
website
to
have
a
flag
flown
over
the
U.S.
Capitol.
If
there’s
any
takeaway
in
Bitcoin
Magazine’s
tongue-in-cheek
article
–
which
praises
Warren
for
having
finally
“seen
the
orange-tinted
light”
(a
reference
to
the
orange
bitcoin
logo)
–
it
might
be
that
the
senator’s
office
apparently
takes
a
decidedly
free-speech
approach
to
moderating
submissions
to
its
flag
request
form.
Bitcoin
Magazine
has
not
responded
to
CoinDesk’s
request
for
comment.
A
call
to
a
phone
number
listed
on
a
press
release
from
Senator
Warren’s
office
did
not
go
through;
a
call
to
the
senator’s
press
office
suggested
reporters
put
their
questions
in
an
email;
CoinDesk’s
emails
to
the
press
office
for
comment
were
not
immediately
returned.