Decentralized Finance in DC
Course Title: DeFi in DC: The Changing Politics and Policies of Decentralized Finance on Capitol Hill and Beyond
Day & Time: Thursdays, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
This course introduces students to ‘Decentralized Finance,’ especially the phenomenon of ‘cryptocurrency’ and the specific one known as ‘Bitcoin.’ The course focuses on the historical development DeFi and the way that diverse actors and interests in the USA and abroad seek to influence US federal regulation, especially through appointments and legislation meant to shape the capacities and activities of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FCEN), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Amidst a general focus on the evolving DeFirelated legislative context in DC, the course considers El Salvador’s recent adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender and the way that US and Salvadoran public officials and private interests across both countries have interacted and influenced US legislation. The greater DC area is the second largest concentration of Salvadoran migrants in the USA and local organizations also play a role in influencing governmental policy in both countries as these relate to El Salvador -US relations, broadly defined. Students will track debates and developments in US national policy regarding DeFi, especially in Congress and at the level of federal agencies (listed above) and conduct brief interviews with public officials. Students also will have the chance to interact with local Salvadoran organizations and leaders in DC as they play a role in the shaping of US DeFi policies. Beyond the specificity of this case, the course will introduce students to the dynamic intersection of US executive and legislative processes in DC and the complex role of private actors and foreign governments in the shaping of US policy. In this regard, it seeks to address the UCDC learning goals associated with governance, policy, and institutional power.
David Pedersen
David Pedersen is a historically minded anthropologist with a joint degree in both disciplines (University of Michigan, 2004). His research and teaching focus on capitalist relations during the 20th century and up to the present in the hemisphere of the Americas. His first book, American Value: Migrants, Money, and Meaning in El Salvador and the United States (Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning, University of Chicago Press, 2014) explores El Salvador and its relations with the United States as both countries have been reshaped by several decades of transnational migration and remittance circulation. Pedersen serves on the advisory board of UC San Diego’s Center for Comparative Immigration Studies (CCIS) and is a faculty affiliate of the Ethnic Studies Program.
