Tim Hite is the director of policy at Exodus and a former congressional staffer for Rep. Warren Davidson. He helped shape early self-custody legislation—including the Keep Your Coins Act (a playful nod to “KYC”)—and bridges law, technology, and individual rights. In this episode, Tim’s discussion kicks off The Last Free Americans miniseries to share the origin story of self-custody protections on Capitol Hill, how “keep your coins” language differs from the Clarity Act’s approach, and what meaningful safeguards against CBDCs could look like. We dig into the evolution of property rights in a digital world, why illicit-finance fears are often overstated, and how social media has changed the legislative battlefield.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro, disclaimers & why self-custody matters now
0:51 – “The Last Free Americans”: series premise
1:16 – Tim’s path: 2017 bull run, law school, FINRA, and meeting Rep. Davidson
3:34 – From Hill staffer to crypto policy: Token Taxonomy Act & early frameworks
6:51 – The spark for the Keep Your Coins Act and naming the bill
11:12 – Two legislative styles: affirming a right vs. restricting regulators
16:24 – Digital ownership as a new chapter in American property rights
19:05 – CBDCs vs. self-custody: opposite ends of the spectrum
22:30 – Social media’s role: sunlight, mobilization, and changing the odds
30:34 – The 2020 “unhosted wallet” rule & why KYCs on self-hosted wallets don’t fit
39:00 – Bank Secrecy Act’s $10k threshold, report overload, and diminishing returns
41:37 – House passage, Senate path, and realistic timelines for the Clarity Act
47:26 – What’s next: tokenized securities and the future of self-custody
52:58 – Peer-to-peer (with an asterisk): whitelists, accounts, and true control
55:01 – Closing thoughts: momentum, vigilance, and “nature finds a way”
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