29th May 2023 – (Washington) As the United States gears up for the presidential elections in late 2024, the outcome of the four-year term could have a significant impact on the next crypto bull run. While the polls are set to open on November 5, 2024, dozens of politicians have already indicated their intention to contest President Joe Biden for the country’s top position.
The current Biden administration seems to have taken an increasingly anti-crypto stance, while former President Donald Trump is bidding for the job again, setting the stage for a rematch. Others are seeking to carry the Democrat and Republican presidential nominations.
Joe Biden’s Attitude towards Crypto
Joe Biden, the current President of the United States, kicked off his re-election bid on April 25 and is currently the likely favourite for the Democrat’s presidential nominee. His attitude towards crypto is best summarised 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,” arguing that crypto doesn’t deliver on “touted” benefits and claiming 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 as he claimed it protected “wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders.”
In March 2022, his executive order culminated with the first framework for crypto.He called for a 30% tax on crypto mining electricity usage, doubled capital gains taxes, and cracked down on crypto wash sales.
Donald Trump’s Views on Crypto
The former President and NFT salesman, Donald 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 expressed negative views on crypto, saying it “may be fake” and is “a disaster waiting to happen.” He has also said that Bitcoin “just seems like a scam” and did not like it “because it is another currency competing against the dollar.”
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. While his 2021 budget proposal mentioned “cryptocurrencies” but only for explaining their use in crimes, he did mull a capital gains tax cut which could have been favorable to crypto users. Trump administration officials did once tout distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a tech that could benefit government operations and bolster the country’s cybersecurity defenses.
Ron DeSantis’ Views on Crypto
Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, announced his presidential bid on May 24. Polls taken before his announcement have him as the second favorite to Trump. During his Twitter Space campaign kick-off, DeSantis said, “You have every right to do Bitcoin” andwould “protect the ability to do things like Bitcoin.” He called out Congress, claiming it “never addressed” crypto and said regulators had made it so “that people cannot operate in that space.” His 2022–2023 budget proposal for the state of Florida proposed the government allows businesses to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies.
DeSantis is probably better known as an anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) figure. He passed laws in Florida prohibiting the use of a federal CBDC as money and banned the use of foreign CBDCs. He’s also rallied against the Federal Reserve‘s FedNow 24/7 instant payments system, claiming it’s a CBDC precursor.
Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Views on Crypto
Pharmaceutical firm founder Vivek Ramaswamy has also signalled a pro-crypto stance but is considered a long shot for the Republican nomination. In mid-May, Ramaswamy tweeted, “Bitcoin should not be regulated as a security.” At the Bitcoin 2023 conference, he announced he would accept campaign donations in Bitcoin. He reaffirmed Bitcoin should not be considered a security, saying “We need to keep it that way.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is seen as unlikely to be put forward by the Democrats for president, but he has signalled pro-crypto stances. Earlier in May, he said “crypto technologies are a major innovation engine” and called Bitcoin a “symbol of democracy and freedom” in a speech at the Bitcoin 2023 conference. He is accepting BTC for campaign donations and was the first presidential candidate ever to do so.
Other Candidates’ Views on Crypto
Republican Senator Tim Scott is bidding for the presidential nomination and has no stated crypto policies. However, he had plans to develop a crypto “bipartisan regulatory framework” and was critical of the securities regulator’s handling of FTX. Republican nominee Nikki Haley and Democratic nominee Marianne Williamson have not publicly addressed their views on crypto. However, Williamson implied disappointment at the Canadian government blocking crypto wallets during the trucker protests in 2022.