7 presidential candidates hinted their views on cryptocurrency

In late 2024, American citizens will go to the polls to elect their next president, a four-year term that could have a significant impact on the upcoming crypto bull run.

Although the polls are not due to open until November 5, 2024, dozens of U.S. politicians have already indicated their intention to challenge President Joe Biden for the country’s top position.

The current Biden administration appears to be taking an increasingly anti-crypto stance. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is once again bidding for the job, setting the stage for a rematch. Others are seeking to carry the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations.

‘No fundamental value’: Joe Biden — Democrat

The current President of the United States, Joe Biden, kicked off his re-election campaign on April 25 and is currently the likely favorite for the Democratic presidential nominee.

• Neuralink approved for human trials of brain-computer interface by FDA
• Kwon’s detention extended after court revokes bail in Montenegro
• SK lawmakers pass law for officials to disclose crypto holdings

Biden’s attitude towards crypto is best summarized by his 2023 Economic Report of the President, which included a section on crypto for the first time since it began in 1950.

The section aimed to debunk the “Perceived Appeal of Crypto Assets.” It argued that crypto does not deliver on “touted” benefits and claimed that “many of them have no fundamental value.”

Biden has rallied against perceived crypto “tax loopholes” and even opposed a debt ceiling agreement with Republicans, claiming it protected “wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders.”

We don’t have to guess what MAGA House Republicans value. They’re telling us. pic.twitter.com/BM6JGMEFeq

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 9, 2023

His March 2022 executive order culminated in the first framework for crypto. He called for a 30% tax on crypto mining electricity usage, doubling capital gains taxes, and cracking down on crypto wash sales.

‘Not a fan of Bitcoin’: Donald Trump — Republican

The former president turned NFT salesman Trump threw in his non-consecutive re-election bid on November 15, 2022. According to current polling, he is the favored Republican nominee.

Trump has said that crypto “may be fake” and is “a disaster waiting to happen.” He has also said that Bitcoin (BTC) “just seems like a scam” and did not like it “because it is another currency competing against the dollar.”

In July 2019, as president, Trump tweeted that he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” claiming that their value was “based on thin air.”

I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019

During his presidency, Trump targeted crypto use in financial crimes and purportedly told his Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, to “go after Bitcoin” in a conversation on trade sanctions against China. “Cryptocurrencies” were mentioned in his 2021 budget proposal but only for explaining their use in crimes.

He did, however, consider a capital gains tax cut that could have been favorable to crypto users. Trump administration officials also once touted distributed ledger technology as a tech that could benefit government operations and bolster the country’s cybersecurity defenses.

‘Every right to do Bitcoin’: Ron DeSantis — Republican

Ron DeSantis said he would “protect” Bitcoin in his May 24 presidential bid announcement on Twitter. Polls taken before the Florida governor’s announcement have him second favorite to Trump.

During his Twitter Space campaign kick-off, DeSantis said, “You have every right to do Bitcoin” and would “protect the ability to do things like Bitcoin.”

He called out Congress, claiming it “never addressed” crypto and said that regulators had made it so “that people can not operate in that space.”

Will you require any presidential candidate to support your right to #Bitcoin before they can earn your vote?

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) May 27, 2023

His 2022-2023 budget proposal for the state of Florida proposed that the government allows businesses to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies.

DeSantis is known for being against the central bank digital currency (CBDC). He has passed laws in Florida that prohibit the use of a federal CBDC as money and has banned the use of foreign CBDCs. He has also opposed the Federal Reserve’s FedNow 24/7 instant payments system, claiming it’s a precursor to a CBDC.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the founder of a pharmaceutical firm, has signaled a pro-crypto stance but is considered a long shot for the Republican nomination. In mid-May, Ramaswamy tweeted that “Bitcoin should not be regulated as a security” and announced at the Bitcoin 2023 conference that he would accept campaign donations in Bitcoin. At the conference, he reaffirmed that Bitcoin should not be considered a security.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat, is seen as unlikely to be put forward by the Democrats for president, but he has signaled pro-crypto stances. Earlier in May, he called cryptocurrency technologies “a major innovation engine” 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 ever do so.

Nikki Haley, a declared Republican candidate, has not publicly addressed her views on crypto. Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson has not either but has implied disappointment at the Canadian government blocking crypto wallets during the trucker protests in 2022. Republican Senator Tim Scott is also running and similarly has no stated crypto policies. He did, however, have plans to develop a crypto “bipartisan regulatory framework.”

Cointelegraph contacted the campaigns of Haley, Williamson, and Scott to clarify their positions on crypto but did not receive a response.