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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/War on Crypto

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The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep‎. I see a consensus among participants here that the article's content is worth retaining in some form. The standing objections largely pertain to issues outside the remit of AfD such as the article title, scope, and POV; these issues should be hashed out on the article talk page and through other normal editing processes. (non-admin closure) Left guide (talk) 20:46, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

War on Crypto

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War on Crypto (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log | edits since nomination)
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Non-notable neologism, article cobbles together a ton of sources that never mention or use the phrase "War on Crypto" nor support the concept. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 20:44, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

  • Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Cryptocurrency-related deletion discussions. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 20:44, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Law and Politics. WCQuidditch ☎ ✎ 20:49, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep, definitely a real notion, even if in the tradition of a conspiracy theory. Hyperbolick (talk) 21:16, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Says which sources? ꧁Zanahary꧂ 22:07, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Washington Post. Hyperbolick (talk) 02:18, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    So, a quote from Donald Trump using a turn of phrase. No ownership of the notion in WashPo’s voice, and no discussion of it as a legitimate concept. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 02:46, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    That's right. As a meme or a conspiracy theory, being called true by POTUS is heavy weight. Hyperbolick (talk) 05:21, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Come on, this is ridiculous. If it were a notable meme or conspiracy theory, it would be discussed as such in reliable sources. And this Wikipedia article does not treat it as a meme or conspiracy theory; it treats it as a real thing with the proper title-cased name “ War on Crypto” ꧁Zanahary꧂ 12:11, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep, as multiple independent reliable sources cited in the article use the phrase "War on Crypto" to describe the phenomenon. Or merge into Crypto Wars, as it represents a continuation of the same efforts in a new application ___domain. DefaultFree (talk) 22:42, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Which sources connect this to the crypto wars?? ꧁Zanahary꧂ 22:49, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    The ones that describe efforts by the United States to limit access to cryptographic tools. DefaultFree (talk) 22:52, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Please show some sources that describe this article’s “war on crypto” as directly relevant to the “crypto wars”. Thanks in advance. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 23:06, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    https://reason.com/2024/05/01/groundhog-day-for-the-crypto-wars-the-doj-on-bitcoin-prowl/, cited in the article, draws a direct comparison: It's a stunning flashback to the 1990s "crypto wars". You're welcome. DefaultFree (talk) 23:15, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    This article makes no mention or use of the neologism “war on crypto”. Consider yourself both thanked and welcome. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 23:23, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Rename to Regulation of cryptocurrency. This article's author linked this as the main article at Cryptocurrency#Regulation so the title should match. There's a lot of legitimate content and space to expand here, but the title and implication for the article's content is not neutral. Reywas92Talk 23:39, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Strong Keep Per WP:BEFORE, the nominator created this AfD only eight minutes after the article was posted, leaving themselves insufficient time to examine the 64 sources listed at the bottom of the article. The sources clearly demonstrate the "War on Crypto" is not a neologism, but a term that is directly and repeatedly used by major publications including Politico, Bloomberg, Forbes, and more, with some even including it in their headlines. If people would like to verify for themselves, I will include every article that makes mention or goes in great detail discussing this. Without further ado, here are all the sources for your reading pleasure. [1][2] [3] [4][5][6] [7][8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] These show WP:SIGCOV since there is a plethora of mainstream, independent reliable sources. Additionally, there are other sources that reference Warren's "anti-crypto army" which indirectly lends credence to the notion that the term is appropriate since wars have armies. Since this meets WP:GNG and WP:SIGCOV easily, the page should be retained. Gjb0zWxOb (talk) 01:01, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    From a random selection from this selection of links, I see the use of “war on crypto” as a turn of phrase (as in “SEC goes to war with crypto”)—which does not validate such a named concept as a “war on crypto”, just as a glut of articles that use the phrase “war on food dyes” in coverage of food additive regulation doesn’t support the existence of such a named concept as a “war on food dyes” (imagine also: a high number of news hits for “battle for racial justice” doesn’t mean that there is a phenomenon called “the battle for racial justice”); then I see a lot of articles that just include direct quotes that include that phrase, without discussing the term qua term. Can you narrow your list to just the sources that actually discuss something called “war on crypto”, in the source’s own voice, treating it as a proper name? ꧁Zanahary꧂ 01:30, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    In addition to Zanahary's comments, the use of this phrase is just in the US context and the non-US sections and sources don't use it. One headline about China says "War on Crypto Mining", which is a very different concept. I'll restate that the article's information and sourcing is good if presented as a general regulation article, but not with this title. — Reywas92Talk 01:56, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Regarding WP:SIGCOV, the standard is not that the the sources needed are sources that discuss the War on Crypto in "the source's/journalists own voice." The standard is that it must "addresses the topic directly and in detail, so that no original research is needed to extract the content." That is exactly the case here. Also, according to WP:COMMONNAME, the title of the article should prefer "the name that is most commonly used (as determined by its prevalence in a significant majority of independent, reliable, English-language sources)" which is the case here. Also, the War on Crypto mining[25] is a relevant subset of the War on Crypto, similar to how the War on Terror against Al Qaeda is a relevant subset of the War on Terror. Notably, only 1-2 sources stated, "war with crypto" instead of the majority that I provided saying "War on Crypto" as its own phenomenon. For example, this source,[26] has multiple section titles describing the content of the article one of them being, "A war on crypto" and another one being "What was behind the SEC war on crypto." Additionally, the whole topic of the article stemmed from one Garlinghouse quote where he says, "'People are like, 'Why did these companies come together and organize and say, 'This matters"?' Garlinghouse said. 'And it's a reaction to a war on crypto.'" These are other sources similar to that.[27][28] This article,[29] has the title, "Big Battles Loom in SEC’s War on Crypto." This article talks about,[30] "'The war on crypto in the US led by the SEC under Gary Gensler is over which, hopefully, leads to a healthy regulatory relationship between the industry and financial regulators,' Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, said in a statement to The Hill." This article is entitled,[31] "The US government just declared war on crypto." This is just a handful of sources that I linked that definitely show that the War on Crypto term is the one utilized and therefore, the proper title according to WP:SIGCOV. Gjb0zWxOb (talk) 17:17, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    It is so completely not the common name. See WP:NPOVNAME, which says to avoid Trendy slogans and monikers that seem unlikely to be remembered or connected with a particular issue years later [and] Colloquialisms where far more encyclopedic alternatives are obvious. This is not even the common name, and if it were, those would apply. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 17:22, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Except these sources largely do not establish this phrase as a name. These are lowercase "a war on crypto" used in passing, not as an official, formal, or even common name like "The War on Crypto" you used with capital letters to start the article. This is an encyclopedia and should cover the topic of regulation – even if intended in some cases to be heavy-handed and restrictive – broadly and neutrally rather than with a loaded title and unnecessarily narrowed scope. This term could be mentioned somewhere that it's a claimed epithet but not in the first paragraph. — Reywas92Talk 17:35, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Rename to Regulation of cryptocurrency per nom and Reywas92. I'm surprised this article doesn't exist yet. Besides the title issue, there are POV problems and WP:UNDUE content, but those can be resolved through editing. Alternatively this could be draftified if others think the issues are too problematic. Helpful Raccoon (talk) 05:24, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I support this rename; the POV definitely needs to be cleaned up and the centering and in-wikivoice reification of the neologism after which it’s currently titled needs to be scrubbed. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 12:54, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Please see my comment that pertains to WP:SIGCOV and WP:COMMONNAME.Gjb0zWxOb (talk) 17:17, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Rename to Regulation of Cryptocurrency per Reywas and Helpful Raccoon. Some useful info which expands on Cryptocurrency#Regulation, the article could be cleaned up and better sourced but should not be deleted. – jfsamper (talk•contrib•email) 12:43, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Please see my comment that pertains to WP:SIGCOV and WP:COMMONNAME.Gjb0zWxOb (talk) 17:17, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep - There are numerous sources and the article doesn't seem "cobbled together" by any reasonable interpretation. The phrase is used across multiple reliable sources with the CBS News source quite literally titling a section "What was behind the SEC war on crypto". I looked to see if this should be merged into Crypto Wars but that is a completely different topic with a much broader scope than cryptocurrency, getting more into cryptography. As such, this is a keep. Agnieszka653 (talk) 17:41, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment: This should be closed and the title issue should be resolved through WP:RM instead of AFD. Nobody here supports deletion after @Zanahary expressed support for a rename. Helpful Raccoon (talk) 20:20, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    If this is becoming a referendum on the title and content, then let it unfold (say I). It ain't broke. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 20:57, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment – The article title was clearly WP:NPOV; the article content needs a review for neutrality. Yue🌙 07:00, 19 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep and I think the article name is largely valid, altho it might be better as War on Cryptocurrency rather than War on Crypto. Crypto what? Cryptozoology?. I dont follow cryptocurrency too much, but I have heard this phrase before. And looking at war on drugs vs regulation of drugs (which doesnt exist, there is drug regulation, which redirects to Regulation of therapeutic goods), there is a distinct difference of conception. This isnt meant to be an OSE response, but simply comparing similar ideas. The "war on crypto" seems geared more towards the actions taken to suppress and reduce the use of cryptocurrency (many countries have banned it), whereas regulation of it is ok with it being legal, but wanting to keep it safe. I think there are enough mentions of this to pass the threshold of SYNTH. The article could certainly use some work and more focus on this, but I think it is a distinct topic from regulation. Metallurgist (talk) 16:27, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    That's a fine argument to coin "War on Crypto", but it's not an argument that it is already a common name. ꧁Zanahary꧂ 19:34, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep or possibly merge content into other relevant articles. I do not think that a rename makes any sense though per arguments above especially per WP:COMMONNAME. Valid merge targets would need to be proposed and discussed separately, but as far as WP:SIGCOV threshold this meets that easily enough.Iljhgtn (talk) 19:32, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brad-garlinghouse-crypto-election-politics-60-minutes/
  2. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240119171334/https://www.businessinsider.com/sec-binance-coinbase-crypto-digital-currency-2023-6
  3. ^ https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/27/politics/donald-trump-bitcoin-cryptocurrency
  4. ^ https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2023/06/12/the-secs-war-on-crypto-00101624
  5. ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-03-04/china-s-inner-mongolia-declares-war-on-crypto-mining-video
  6. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20250206220447/https://www.inc.com/sam-blum/the-war-on-crypto-helped-get-trump-elected-according-to-ripples-brad-garlinghouse/91062612
  7. ^ https://time.com/6981035/donald-trump-crypto-election-2024/
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240618105806/https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/big-battles-loom-in-secs-war-on-crypto-aeff0d78
  9. ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fairshake-super-pac-brad-garlinghouse-sec-gensler-60-minutes
  10. ^ https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/money-report/cryptos-long-battle-with-sec-comes-to-a-close-with-ripple-victory/4141098
  11. ^ https://www.wired.com/story/roman-storm-tornado-cash-crypto-trial
  12. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240716171926/https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/31/desantis-slams-bidens-war-on-bitcoin-that-hasnt-actually-been-declared
  13. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240716171926/https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/31/desantis-slams-bidens-war-on-bitcoin-that-hasnt-actually-been-declared
  14. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20241226221701/https://thehill.com/business/5054066-crypto-industry-2024-election-legislation
  15. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20250716013018/https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/harris-trump-election-10-31-24/card/trump-vows-to-end-kamala-s-war-on-crypto--S52r64qKzlUHWKAOGwlq
  16. ^ https://news.bloomberglaw.com/securities-law/waging-war-on-cryptocurrency-would-be-a-mistake-for-democrats
  17. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20250603231627/https://www.vox.com/money/371597/crypto-politics-spending-2024-elections-trump
  18. ^ https://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-finance/white-house-crypto-summit-details-what-to-know-rcna195291
  19. ^ https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/circumstances-surrounding-trumps-crypto-flip-seem-familiar-rcna158284
  20. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/20/winklevoss-twins-donate-trump-cryptocurrency
  21. ^ https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/23/trump-signs-executive-order-on-crypto-digital-asset-stockpile.html
  22. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20250308003021/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/03/07/trump-crypto-summit-white-house
  23. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20250607172720/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/technology/crypto-sec-trump.html
  24. ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2024-07-17/ripple-labs-ceo-says-sec-s-gensler-is-at-war-with-crypto-video
  25. ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-03-04/china-s-inner-mongolia-declares-war-on-crypto-mining-video
  26. ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brad-garlinghouse-crypto-election-politics-60-minutes/
  27. ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fairshake-super-pac-brad-garlinghouse-sec-gensler-60-minutes/
  28. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20250206220447/https://www.inc.com/sam-blum/the-war-on-crypto-helped-get-trump-elected-according-to-ripples-brad-garlinghouse/91062612
  29. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240217232415/https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/big-battles-loom-in-secs-war-on-crypto-aeff0d78
  30. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20241226221701/https://thehill.com/business/5054066-crypto-industry-2024-election-legislation/
  31. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240119171334/https://www.businessinsider.com/sec-binance-coinbase-crypto-digital-currency-2023-6
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.
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