At the end of 2024, the citizens of the United States will head to the voting booths to elect their next president – a four-year term that could have a huge impact on the next crypto bull run.
Although polls are due to open on November 5, 2024, dozens of American politicians have already signaled their intention to challenge President Joe Biden for the nation’s top spot.
The current Biden administration seems to have taken an increasingly anti-crypto stance. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is reapplying for the job, setting the stage for a rematch. Others seek to carry the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations.
‘No core values’: Joe Biden – Democrat
Current United States President Joe Biden launched his re-election bid on April 25 and is currently the likely frontrunner for the Democratic presidential candidate.
Biden’s attitude toward crypto is perhaps best summed up by his 2023 President’s Economic Report which included a section on crypto for the first time since its debut in 1950.
The section aimed to demystify “the perceived appeal of crypto assets.” He argued that crypto doesn’t offer the “vaunted” benefits and asserted that “a lot of them don’t have any fundamental value.”
Biden rallied against perceived crypto “tax loopholes” and even opposed a debt ceiling deal with Republicans because he claimed he was protecting “wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders.”
We don’t have to guess what MAGA House Republicans value. They tell us. pic.twitter.com/BM6JGMEFeq
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 9, 2023
Its executive order of March 2022 resulted in the first framework for cryptography. He called for a 30% tax on electricity use in crypto mining, doubling capital gains taxes and cracking down on crypto wash sales.
“Not a bitcoin fan”: Donald Trump — Republican
Former president-turned-NFT salesman Trump launched his bid for non-consecutive re-election on Nov. 15, 2022. According to the current votehe is the preferred Republican candidate.
Trump said the crypto “can be fake” and is “imminent doom.” He also said that Bitcoin (BTC) “looked like a scam” and that he didn’t like it “because it’s another currency that competes with the dollar.”
In July 2019, as President, Trump tweeted that he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” saying their value was “based on thin air.”
I’m not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which aren’t money, and are very volatile and air-based in value. Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate illegal behavior, including drug trafficking and other illegal activities….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019
During his presidency, Trump targeted the use of crypto in financial crimes and reportedly told his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to “go after bitcoin” in a conversation about trade sanctions against China. “Cryptocurrencies” were mentioned in his 2021 budget proposal, but only to explain their use in crimes.
He did, however, consider a reduction in capital gains tax which could have been favorable to crypto users. Trump administration officials once touted distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a technology that could benefit government operations and bolster the nation’s cybersecurity defenses.
“All rights to make Bitcoin”: Ron DeSantis – Republican
Ron DeSantis said he would “protect” Bitcoin in his May 24 presidential candidacy announcement on Twitter. Polls taken before the Florida governor’s announcement ranked him second after Trump.
When launching his Twitter Space campaign, DeSantis said, “You have every right to do bitcoin” and “would protect the ability to do things like bitcoin.”
He called out Congress, saying he “never addressed” crypto and said regulators made it so “people can’t operate in this space.”
Will you require any presidential candidate to support your right to #Bitcoins before they can win your vote?
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) May 27, 2023
Its 2022-2023 budget proposal for the state of Florida proposed that the government allow businesses to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies.
DeSantis is probably best known as an anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) figure.
It has passed laws in Florida prohibiting the use of a federal CBDC as currency and prohibits the use of foreign CBDCs. He also rallied around the Federal Reserve’s FedNow 24/7 instant payments system, saying it’s a precursor to the CBDC.
“Bitcoin should not be regulated as a security”: Vivek Ramaswamy – Republican
Pharmaceutical company founder Vivek Ramaswamy has also signaled a pro-crypto stance, but is seen as a long shot for the Republican nomination.
In mid-May, Ramaswamy tweeted “Bitcoin shouldn’t be regulated as a security.” At the Bitcoin 2023 conference, he announced that he would be accepting campaign donations in Bitcoin.
Competition breeds innovation. Bitcoin should not be regulated as a security. Will explain more at @TheBitcoinConf SATURDAY. @Bitcoin #Bitcoins #Bitcoin2023 pic.twitter.com/CtMPxIwsMR
—Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) May 17, 2023
During the conference, Ramaswamy reaffirmed that Bitcoin should not be considered a security, stating “We have to keep it that way”.
Related: White House’s new standards strategy could have implications for the KYC crypto industry
“Bitcoin is finite in quantity, there is no issuer. It should never have been treated as a security under current securities laws,” he said.
“A Major Engine of Innovation”: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – Democrat
Robert F. Kennedy Jr is seen as unlikely to be nominated by Democrats for president – but he has signaled pro-crypto stances.
Earlier in May, he said “crypto technologies are a major driver of innovation” and called Bitcoin “a symbol of democracy and freedom” in a speech at the Bitcoin 2023 conference.
He accepts BTC for campaign donations and was the first presidential candidate to do so, beating Ramaswamy by days.
Cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, along with other cryptographic technologies are a major driver of innovation. It is a mistake for the US government to stifle industry and stimulate innovation elsewhere. Biden’s proposed 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining is a bad idea.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 3, 2023
Kennedy called Biden’s proposed 30% energy tax for crypto miners a “bad idea” and opposes CBDCs because they “dramatically amplify the power of government.” He opposes the Fed’s FedNow system for a similar reason.
Others
The third declared favorite Republican candidate, Nikki Haley, has not publicly expressed her views on crypto.
Neither did Democratic candidate Marianne Willamson, but hinted at her disappointment at the Canadian government’s blocking of crypto wallets during the 2022 trucker protests.
Canada, how are you? https://t.co/6vi1B3qBbq
— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) February 18, 2022
Republican Senator Tim Scott is also a bidder and has no stated crypto policy either. He did, however, intend to develop a cryptographic “bipartisan regulatory framework.”
He criticized the securities regulator’s handling of FTX and questioned whether they had “fallen asleep at the wheel”.
Cointelegraph reached out to the campaigns of Haley, Williamson and Scott to clarify their positions on the crypto but did not receive a response.
Magazine: Crypto Regulation – Does SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Have the Final Word?
