Author: Fire, Blockchain in Plain Language
The year 2024 marks the year of the super election, with dozens of countries and regions around the world holding crucial elections involving a total population of over 4 billion. Among them, the US election is undoubtedly the biggest focal point. However, unlike in the past, the topic of cryptocurrency ranks third in terms of popularity among all super political action committees participating in the 2024 US election.
Four years ago, it was rare for presidential candidates to discuss Bitcoin during their campaigns. Three years ago, when El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, people were mostly observers. However, things started to change during last year’s primaries, signaling the end of the era when cryptocurrency was on the political sidelines.
On one hand, former President Trump and current President Biden are making various efforts to win the support of crypto voters. On the other hand, many crypto companies are planning to inject a significant amount of cash into the 2024 US presidential election. There are already signs indicating that this funding is helping the crypto industry gain more support in Washington.
In addition, among the 12 primary candidates participating in the 2024 US presidential election, five have openly expressed their support for Bitcoin and the crypto industry. By the end of December 2023, Argentine President Javier Milei was elected, with policies including dollarization, ending currency controls, closing the central bank, significant cuts in national spending, and actively supporting Bitcoin.
Which presidents and regions around the world explicitly support Bitcoin?
01
El Salvador: Nayib Bukele
In 2021, El Salvador became the world’s first country to officially recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. President Nayib Bukele made this decision as a way to boost the country’s economy, which heavily relies on remittances from abroad as a significant component of its GDP. When Bitcoin’s trading price was around $36,000, El Salvador designated it as legal tender and introduced the government-designed digital wallet app Chivo Wallet, allowing users to make payments in USD or Bitcoin.
President Bukele announced that El Salvador would start purchasing one Bitcoin daily when Bitcoin’s price dropped to around $16,000 in November 2022. In March 2024, reports indicated that El Salvador might hold more Bitcoin than publicly estimated, with plans to convert Bitcoin into USD for local businesses, mining, and government services, resulting in a portfolio value of nearly $205 million and profits of $83 million from Bitcoin investment strategies.
Subsequently, on March 14, Bukele announced that a “large part” of the country’s Bitcoin assets would be stored in “cold wallets” and other related offline devices.
However, a study published in December 2023 in the journal “Science” revealed that since adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, El Salvador has not widely applied Bitcoin, and digital payments are scarce and concentrated.
02
US President (Former President, Candidates)
At the end of 2024, the US will hold its next presidential election. Although the polls will not begin until November 5, 2024, dozens of American politicians have expressed their intentions to challenge the incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden.
Among the 12 candidates running for the 2024 US presidential election, five have openly expressed their support for Bitcoin and crypto assets. This includes four Republican candidates: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Francis Suarez, Vivek Ramaswamy, and one Democratic candidate, Robert F. Kennedy. According to FiveThirtyEight data at the time, Donald Trump had the highest support among declared Republican candidates at 54%, with Ron DeSantis in second place at 17%.
As expected, Trump and Biden have started the “crypto election” battle.
It is no secret that the current Biden administration (Democratic Party) has taken a seemingly anti-crypto stance. Therefore, if a pro-crypto candidate is elected, it could have a significant impact on the next crypto bull market. Looking at the current party attitudes towards crypto, the majority of Democrats led by Biden tend to be cautious about crypto, especially after the FTX collapse, further reinforcing a strict regulatory direction. In contrast, most Republicans, led by Trump, may show rare tolerance towards crypto to attract votes and showcase different political views.
With Trump advocating for a “crypto-friendly” stance, supporting technological innovation, and even launching a crypto donation website in May, Biden and other Democrats have started to loosen up, recruiting meme managers simultaneously.
While crypto may only occupy a small part of the entire US election, it doesn’t mean that crypto voters are unimportant. Perhaps a small policy change could have a more significant impact on voter support.
1) Donald John Trump
Although Trump publicly expressed a negative attitude towards crypto assets as “thin air” during his presidency from January 2017 to January 2021, he has been actively involved in crypto activities in the past two years, becoming one of the most crypto-savvy presidential candidates.
On December 16, 2022, he launched the NFT project – Trump Digital Collectible Cards, which generated a total profit of $4.87 million after selling out. It was revealed that Trump’s alleged crypto wallet holds nearly $2.8 million worth of crypto assets (ETH), as disclosed by the non-profit organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on August 14, 2013.
Currently, Trump is leading in polls among Republicans by a significant margin. However, with more Republicans announcing their candidacy and Trump facing legal issues, the final representative for the Republican Party in the 2024 US presidential election remains uncertain.
2) Ron DeSantis
On July 31, 2023, during a campaign event in New Hampshire, US presidential candidate and Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis addressed the ongoing crackdown on crypto assets and institutions by the Biden administration since 2023:
“When I am elected president, I will end Biden’s war on Bitcoin and crypto.”
“We will allow Americans to invest in Bitcoin and crypto assets. No one is forcing you, but if you want to buy (crypto assets), you can.”
DeSantis also strongly opposes CBDCs (central bank digital currencies). He believes that unlike crypto assets, CBDCs transfer significant consumer power to the central authority, enabling the federal government to control the flow of money.
DeSantis added, “If I am president, from day one, we will abolish CBDCs.”
3) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Another candidate investing in crypto assets is Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy competing in the 2024 US election. He is a member of the famous political Kennedy family and the nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy.
On July 24, 2023, Kennedy attended a Bitcoin conference in Miami and announced that his campaign would be the “first presidential campaign in history to accept Bitcoin donations via the Lightning Network.”
On July 27, he confirmed on Twitter that he holds Bitcoin and has purchased two Bitcoins for each of his seven children. He emphasized that Bitcoin is an inflation-resistant currency, providing freedom to individual investors rather than holding fiat currency controlled by the system. He aims to eliminate capital gains tax on Bitcoin.
Like DeSantis, Kennedy is optimistic about the future of Bitcoin and crypto and has promised to gradually support the dollar with Bitcoin if elected president. He explained that this is a gradual process, planning to start with a small scale, perhaps supporting 1% of national debt with hard currency, gold, silver, platinum, or Bitcoin.
4) More
Two other presidential candidates, Vivek Ramaswamy and Francis Suarez, have lower chances of winning the 2024 US presidential election based on current polls. However, they are both supporters of Bitcoin.
Unlike DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy stated that he is a fan of Bitcoin but will not use Bitcoin as a commodity to stabilize the dollar: “I believe, for various reasons, Bitcoin does not meet the standards of a commodity basket. Bitcoin may become part of a commodity basket at some point, but for technical reasons, I won’t include it today.”
Presidential candidate and Mayor of Miami, Suarez, will accept Bitcoin donations for his presidential campaign. Known for advocating crypto, Suarez pledged to make Miami a Bitcoin hub. As mayor, he accepted Bitcoin as his salary and actively participated in the development of the crypto industry, believing that the US needs a president who understands crypto assets and artificial intelligence.
03
Argentine President: Javier Milei
Javier Milei, an Argentine economist and former member of the Argentine National Chamber of Deputies and leader of the liberal movement, was successfully elected in the November 2023 presidential election.
Renowned American journalist Tucker Carlson interviewed Milei, with the interview garnering over 421 million views on Twitter. One key aspect of the interview was the dollarization of the Argentine economy. Milei emphasized the importance of abolishing the Argentine central bank and highlighted that Bitcoin could provide an opportunity for this process.
In his vision, after closing the country’s central bank, Bitcoin would serve as a remedy for Argentine inflation and become the mainstay. Before the presidential election, Milei frequently appeared on various talk shows, advocating the benefits of Bitcoin and crypto assets, stating that “Bitcoin can eliminate central banks.”
In conclusion, the influence of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in politics is growing, with various leaders and candidates around the world openly supporting these digital assets and exploring their potential impact on the future of finance and governance.The rise of Bitcoin, which broke through $37,000 from its previous level of around $30,000, can be attributed to the election of Milae, with a 24-hour increase of 2.3%.
Contrary to some previous reports, Milae’s government in Argentina has not been actively promoting Bitcoin standards, especially in the weeks following his election. Many reports have clarified that Javier Milae does not have any concrete policies supporting cryptocurrencies, stating that while he has a positive attitude towards Bitcoin and criticizes the central bank, his main economic proposal is the dollarization of the Argentine economy rather than adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. Milae’s remarks about Bitcoin, stating that it should be returned to its original creators, the private sector, have been misconstrued to imply broader policy measures to adopt Bitcoin, which was not his proposal.
Is this a lesson from the US election and the development of cryptocurrencies?
Indira Kempis, a federal senator in the 65th legislative body of the Republic of Mexico from the Citizen Movement Party, announced her intention to become the first female presidential candidate in Mexico in August 2023 amidst internal party disputes. Kempis is well-known among Bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocates for her outspoken support of early Bitcoin adoption in Mexico. She has been promoting the crypto economy since taking office in 2018, even advocating for Bitcoin regulations similar to El Salvador.
Kempis introduced a bill to create a CBDC in 2022, suggesting that the central bank should be the sole issuer of the digital peso, although the bill did not initially mention cryptocurrencies. However, after criticism from the crypto community regarding the introduction of CBDC, Kempis amended the bill to include Bitcoin, aiming to make it the first cryptocurrency to be recognized as legal tender in Mexico.
While the future of cryptocurrency regulation remains uncertain, the recent victory of Claudia Sheinbaum, the presidential candidate of the ruling party National Regeneration Movement, in the Mexican presidential elections on June 3, 2024, has further clouded the crypto outlook. Sheinbaum’s stance on cryptocurrencies remains vague, leaving room for continued monitoring of Mexico’s crypto policies.
Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, assumed office on October 25, 2022, after serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer. During his tenure as Chancellor, Sunak proposed exploring the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in collaboration with the Bank of England. He also recognized stablecoins as an effective payment method in April 2022, signaling his support for various cryptocurrencies beyond just Bitcoin.
Sunak’s interest in a diverse portfolio of cryptocurrencies, preferring investments in multiple digital assets over just a few, suggests a high level of engagement with the crypto space. He has taken steps to position the UK as a global hub for cryptocurrency technology, including incorporating stablecoins into the regulatory framework and expanding digital asset initiatives.
The former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, also adopted an open and proactive approach to crypto policies during his tenure. He expressed support for legalizing Bitcoin as a legal tender, exempting crypto transactions from value-added tax or income tax, and endorsing the Central Bank of Brazil’s research on issuing digital currencies. In April 2022, after lengthy deliberations in the Brazilian Senate, Bolsonaro signed a bill into law, laying the foundation for the country’s regulatory framework for the crypto industry.
In conclusion, as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to permeate the economic and political landscapes of various countries, the emergence of crypto-friendly nations is accelerating the journey of cryptocurrencies from the fringes of finance to the mainstream. With more countries recognizing the potential of blockchain technology and digital currencies, we may witness a more integrated and robust global crypto market in the future.
