'Trump coin adviser' Bailey "Why remove only Bitcoin from indexes... clear discrimination"

David Bailey, chairman of Bitcoin Magazine, voiced strong criticism of the possibility that major U.S. stock indexes might exclude Bitcoin (BTC) and digital-asset companies.

On the 21st (local time), Bailey said on his X, "It is arbitrary and discriminatory for systemically important stock indexes to discuss measures to disallow inclusion targeting only Bitcoin companies," and argued, "This is effectively 'Operation Chokepoint 3.0'."

Bailey pointed out, "They allowed index inclusion in the past and now specifically exclude Bitcoin and digital-asset companies, which is inconsistent," and said, "Commodity-linked industries such as oil, gold, and agricultural products can all be included in indexes; an explanation is needed for why only Bitcoin is being excluded."

He warned that if the policy is actually pursued, it would deliver a major shock to the virtual-asset (cryptocurrency) market and the industry as a whole.

Bailey said, "There could be forced sell-offs amounting to tens of billions of dollars from Bitcoin-related listed companies," and, "In the long term, future revenue opportunities amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars would disappear." He added, "Investment sentiment toward Bitcoin startups and private companies would be dampened, and public companies would also hesitate to hold or utilize Bitcoin citing index inclusion uncertainty," saying, "This could weaken U.S. leadership in strategically important industries."

He also noted that the policy discussion was first made public on the 10th of last month, and assessed, "Considering the subsequent increase in market volatility, this issue may have affected the recent market adjustment."

Bailey emphasized, "In a structure where banks and index providers effectively control 40% of the capital markets, they should not have the right to exclude industries they directly compete with," and said, "It is a clear conflict of interest and requires investigation by Congress and regulators." He added, "We have already fought and won on bank access issues and the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs," and, "Now we must fight again for fairness in investment access."