US presidential candidates on both sides of the bipartisan spectrum are taking advantage of the cryptocurrency industry.
You’ll notice how I didn’t say that cryptocurrencies will be a hot topic this election season, or that the crypto space will play any kind of role in shaping election discourse.
No. It is clear to me that some of the major players in this presidential race are planning to exploit the cryptocurrency world for money and votes, and those in the cryptocurrency industry should stop playing along.
Why should cryptocurrency-friendly legislation take precedence over everything else? Maybe you truly believe that the financial system is broken and that a path forward for cryptocurrency in the United States is the best way to create a new, more egalitarian society that will allow everyone to thrive.
But that’s not what I see.
What I see is a small number of wealthy individuals, who have gained that wealth from cryptocurrency, looking for the government to allow them to continue to grow that wealth without restrictions.
Among die-hard crypto evangelists right now, “voting crypto” means voting Republican for president. According to this side of the debate, any other decision would virtually ensure the death of the American cryptocurrency industry.
This fear (true or not) has led some prominent Web3 personalities to push cryptocurrency supporters to become single-issue voters. Their message is clear: choose your 2024 candidates solely based on their stance on cryptocurrency, or else.
In other words, Americans should prioritize their own selfish financial interests over broader social and ethical concerns. When you promote the idea of voting especially for America’s cryptocurrency industry, you are deciding to ignore all the other issues that are really at stake this election season: access to healthcare, Social Security, gun legislation, women’s rights , LGBT issues, immigration, to name a few.
Let me be clear: I don’t care if you vote Republican, Democrat, or a third party, as long as you care about the issues at stake and truly believe that the candidate in question is representative of your views. But voting for a candidate you wouldn’t otherwise support, simply because he favors deregulation of an industry in which you have a profit motive, is a compromise you shouldn’t make.
Cryptocurrencies are not political by chance
Cryptocurrency has undeniably (and perhaps unfortunately) become a partisan issue.
Blockchain technology, which underpins the entire cryptocurrency industry, is neither inherently good nor bad. But it is the actions of individuals and what they do with this technology that have attracted regulatory scrutiny over the years. This has turned a neutral technology stack into a deeply partisan issue, with opinions sharply divided across party lines regarding its integration into the American financial system and beyond.
On the left side of the political spectrum – the same side already in favor of stricter financial regulations – politicians often place cryptocurrencies in a global context of scams, money laundering and market manipulation to bolster their calls for oversight. Their slogan is to protect consumers.
Right-wing lawmakers – who already typically favor less financial regulation – instead assume that intense regulation of cryptocurrencies will cripple innovation and impede technological progress. They say their goal is to advance American innovation at a rapid pace, far ahead of other countries such as China.
However, their alleged motivations are likely only applicable during election season. Because what all politicians actually want is your attention, your money, and ultimately, your vote. As with most issues, when the time comes, big, meaningful changes are unlikely to come on either side of the equation. Instead, it will be the actions of innovators within the crypto space that will move the needle, which you would think anyone who truly supports limited government would appreciate.
The very idea that cryptocurrencies need to be “voted” into office has brought some very unsavory people to the platform who actually have absolutely nothing to do with cryptocurrencies, beyond a shared desire to solicit donations from this subset of niche, recently wealthy Americans. .
Last year, Vivek Ramaswamy held a fireside chat on the Messari Mainnet last fall, promoting his presidential crypto plan just months before dropping out of the race. This year the consensus will see Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speak out, announcing the news with a headline calling him a “pro-crypto presidential candidate.” I can think of several other modifiers for RFK Jr. that are more noteworthy than his stance on cryptocurrencies.
And most importantly, Crypto Twitter has, for the most part, largely embraced former President Donald Trump’s words of support for NFTs and cryptocurrencies. And far be it from me to say whether that support is genuine, or more largely based on the fact that he has made millions of dollars selling NFTs branded with his own image.
Supporting these candidates simply because they appear to be making positive noise about cryptocurrencies isn’t about taking back power from Wall Street or helping to make the world a more financially equitable place—it’s about falling for empty campaign rhetoric.
The idea that any presidential candidate (or governor or senator) is trying to gain favor with the cryptocurrency public because they actually believe in cryptocurrencies is ridiculous. These candidates are looking for cryptocurrencies, nothing more and nothing less. Those in the cryptocurrency industry who support such candidates are willing to pretend that these officials even understand the basics of how cryptocurrencies work under the hood (not to mention its implications for the larger pictures of finance and democracy), or they are willing to compromise their morals. and ethics for the mere possibility of moon-creating crypto legislation in the future.
As the one, big, obvious example: If you believe that Donald Trump will truly support the cryptocurrency industry, you must be willing to overlook his judicially recognized allegations of sexual assault, blatant institutional fraud, and genuine attempts to overthrow American democracy when you launch the your vote in November.
Is cryptocurrency really that important to you?
