By Bitcoin has officially entered mainstream U.S. politics as three presidential candidates have made statements in support of the digital currency. Robert Kennedy Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis are all pro-Bitcoin.
Is This The First Time?
Robert Kennedy Jr. was the first of the three to announce that he would enact policies to protect the Bitcoin industry in America, should he be elected president.
He also announced that he would be accepting donations in bitcoin.
Despite many publications reporting that he is the first presidential candidate in U.S. history to do so, that honor actually falls to 2016 candidate Rand Paul.
The confusion comes because Kennedy announced at the 2023 Bitcoin Convention in Miami that his campaign would be “the first presidential campaign in history to accept Bitcoin donations through the Lightning Network.”
Reporting publications appear to have missed “the Lightning Network” and are instead giving him credit for being the first to accept bitcoin donations at all, which is false.
In any case, Bitcoiners will be thrilled to have a Democratic candidate so pro-bitcoin, whilst the other two are Republican.
This means there’s a chance that one from either party will win their respective nominations and go head-to-head in the election, guaranteeing a pro-bitcoin president.
Bitcoin Is Key To Freedom
All three candidates have argued that Biden’s plan to tax bitcoin mining is wrong, with Ramaswamy calling it “wrong and unfair and it is not an appropriate use of federal power.”
He has assured voters that he will ensure “the freedom to mine” and allow bitcoin to be used an as alternative currency by those who are wary of the waning U.S. dollar.
Kennedy also criticized the current administration and vowed to “reverse the government’s growing hostility” towards bitcoin.
He was keen to highlight the “link between Bitcoin and democracy and freedom”, ensuring that he will enforce the right to hold and use bitcoin.
DeSantis has perhaps the best track record of supporting the use of decentralized digital assets, whilst opposing the development of CBDCs whilst governor of Florida.
Whilst he has not announced that he is accepting donations to his campaign in bitcoin, he stated in his campaign announcement on Twitter that “we’ll protect the ability to do things like bitcoin” and that the current administration is in danger of “killing” the industry.
He made clear, “I don’t have an itch to control everything,” demonstrating a more libertarian approach to digital currencies.
This seems to be a theme for all three candidates, illustrating the inherent awareness Bitcoin advocates have of the ethos of freedom and decentralized power that encapsulates the digital currency.
Could 2024 Bring The First Pro-Bitcoin President In History?
For Bitcoin to have any hope, at least one of these three candidates will have to win their respective nominations.
DeSantis and Ramaswamy can’t both win the Republican nomination, but if one of those two wins, and Kennedy wins the Democratic nomination, then the United States is guaranteed to have a president in 2024 that will ensure the freedom to mine, hold, and use bitcoin.
It’s certainly no forgone conclusion that even one of them will win their nominations, but if three candidates are promising these policies in 2024, how many could be in 2028?
Whether the traditional establishment likes it or not, Bitcoin is only getting bigger.
