If
you
ever
wanted
confirmation
that
politicians
do
not
always
read
the
documents
they
sign,
look
no
further
than
Sen.
Elizabeth
Warren.
Recently,
an
anonymous
Bitcoiner
pranked
the
Senator
from
Massachusetts,
who
has
built
a
brand
around
supposedly
helping
the
financially
unprivileged,
by
getting
her
to
sign
a
document
commemorating
Satoshi
Nakamoto.
This
is
an
excerpt
from
The
Node
newsletter,
a
daily
roundup
of
the
most
pivotal
crypto
news
on
CoinDesk
and
beyond.
You
can
subscribe
to
get
the
full
newsletter
here.
The
U.S.
government,
apparently,
runs
a
“flag
program”
via
the
Architect
of
the
Capitol,
which
flies
commemorative
flags
over
the
Capitol
building
in
Washington
D.C.
As
the
government
site
notes:
members
of
Congress
are
able
to
nominate
individuals
or
groups
deserving
of
this
special
acknowledgement.
Over
100,000
flag
requests
are
fulfilled
each
year,
a
number
that
suggests
not
everything
is
always
properly
vetted.
Bitcoin
Magazine
broke
the
news
that
on
Dec.
18,
2023,
Sen.
Warren
honored
the
creator
of
Bitcoin
for
the
accomplishment
of
creating
the
first
“truly
inclusive
financial
system.”
“While
the
sudden
embrace
of
Bitcoin
by
the
Massachusetts
Senator
may
seem
a
surprise,
her
career-long
rhetoric
about
fighting
for
the
financially
under-served
has
finally
taken
shape
within
this
tangible
statement,”
Bitcoin
Magazine
editor
Mark
Goodwin
wrote,
probably
with
a
smirk
on
his
face.
See
also:
If
You’re
in
Crypto,
You’re
a
Criminal
|
Opinion
Warren
is
a
candidate
for
being
the
most
outspoken
legislator
standing
against
Bitcoin.
Last
year,
as
part
of
her
re-election
campaign,
she
announced
the
formation
of
an
anti-crypto
army,
for
instance,
and
has
introduced
the
Digital
Asset
Anti-Money
Laundering
Act,
which
would
use
the
Bank
Secrecy
Act
as
a
cudgel
to
bash
crypto
miners,
coders
and
exchanges
(and
might
be
unconstitutional).
Which
is
why
the
idea
of
her
doing
an
about-face
on
Bitcoin
was
so
surprising.
CoinDesk’s
Sam
Kessler
reported
on
how
the
prank
was
pulled
off:
“anyone
can,
for
a
fee,
fill
out
a
form
on
the
Senator’s
website
to
have
a
flag
flown
over
the
U.S.
Capitol.”
And
apparently
someone
did.
While
there
doesn’t
appear
to
be
a
record
online
of
the
flag
being
flown
(or
any
documented
evidence,
for
that
matter),
the
anonymous
prankster
did
send
the
certificates
Sen.
Warren’s
office
signed
to
PubKey,
a
waterhole
for
Bitcoiners
in
downtown
New
York
City.
Last
night,
comedian
T.J.
Miller
revealed
the
documents
at
the
establishment,
PubKey’s
head
of
marketing
Daniel
Modell
said
in
an
interview
with
CoinDesk.
“I
mean,
if
they’re
not
reading
simple
things
like
a
certificate,
how
deeply
do
they
read
legislation?”
Modell
said.
“This
is
not
an
Elizabeth
Warren
issue.
This
is
not
a
Democrat/Republican
issue.
This
is
a
general
politics
issue.”
Indeed,
as
Modell
said,
it
is
incumbent
on
legislators
to
understand
the
laws
they
pass
—
and
it’s
not
always
clear
they
do.
It’s
common
to
complain
about
gridlock
in
D.C.,
but
equally
as
insidious
is
how
quickly
some
bills
are
passed
after
being
introduced.
That’s
why
“riders”
can
be
an
issue,
for
instance.
The
public
spectacle
was
planned
to
coincide
with
the
tenth
anniversary
of
the
legendary
BitcoinTalk
post
titled
“I
AM
HODLING,”
from
Dec.
18,
2013,
which
spawned
the
meme
about
holding
bitcoin
for
the
long
haul
still
in
the
lexicon
today,
Modell
said.
You
can
argue
that
Bitcoiners
are
sometimes
too
nerdy
about
their
inside
jokes
and
lore,
but
it’s
hard
to
disagree
with
the
act
of
civil
disobedience.
It’s
likely
the
prank
will
rank
among
other
legendary
moments
of
lighthearted
sabotage,
like
Bitcoin
Sign
Guy
broadcasting
to
the
world
to
buy
bitcoin
as
now
Treasury
Secretary
Janet
Yellen
was
delivering
a
talk,
or
the
still
unknown
Apple
employee
who
put
a
version
of
the
Bitcoin
white
paper
on
MacOS.
What
makes
it
all
the
richer
is
that
the
document
Warren
signed,
recognizing
the
“new
economic
freedoms”
Satoshi
Nakamoto
brought
about,
contained
a
typo
misspelling
“Americans.”
Hopefully,
politicians
take
it
as
a
sign
to
start
figuring
out
what
crypto
can
do
and
how
to
appropriately
regulate
without
strangling
the
industry.
Part
of
the
reason
the
stunt
was
so
believable
(it
had
me
fooled,
at
least),
was
that
pols
like
Warren
might
want
to
extend
an
olive
branch
to
crypto.
With
the
advent
of
crypto-based
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs),
which
enable
Average
Joes
to
add
bitcoin
to
their
retirement
accounts,
there
might
be
a
time
in
the
near
future
where
it
becomes
politically
unpalatable
to
attack
assets
that
so
many
people
are
banking
on.
“We
welcome
[politicians]
to
come
and
have
conversations
with
the
public,”
Modell
said,
extending
an
invitation
to
Warren
and
her
peers.
“We
want
to
call
attention
to
those
important
details.”