Thinking a lot lately about how crypto depends on the law to survive, yet is also in constant conflict with the people making those laws. And, what if any lessons from U.S. history can we draw on to help predict the outcome of all this?

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology today can be seen as being in a similar situation as other disruptive technologies in the past—including the mass adoption of railroads, telegraphs, and the internet. Each of these technologies transformed society and economies in their own unique ways and led to the passage of new regulations and policies by law makers that worked to manage and temper their impact.