If you watched last night’s debate in the Massachusetts Senate, you would have noticed an important exchange between pro-Bitcoin candidate John Deaton and his rival Elizabeth Warren, leader of Washington DC’s ‘anti-crypto army’.
Under pressure from Deaton, Warren would not even defend himself. After years of lying and attacking our industry, she said:I’m fine with people wanting to buy and sell crypto.” Serious.
My big concern right now is that it says everything about the Democrats and the lip service they pay to the Bitcoin industry.
There’s no denying that Bitcoin has largely become a partisan issue in this country. Most Democrats have followed Warren in taking a strong stance against supporting Bitcoin (even if they don’t want to admit it). I suspect presidential candidate Kamala Harris has done the same.
Case and point: Even Harris released a generic “we will support blockchain and digital assets” this week, without specifying exactly what she would do to help this.
But oh wait, she actually released a new one policy proposal Yesterday, and to no one’s surprise, it was a race-based race that excluded most Americans. It was one flop in the industry.
I have to wonder at this point: how much more do pro-democracy Bitcoiners need to see?
Republicans have clearly embraced the industry. They have introduced legislative proposals in an effort to promote more innovation in space. They defend the industry against attacks from the Democrats. They attend Bitcoin conferences and events, listen to industry leaders, and personally buy and hold Bitcoin.
They have not been shy in their public support for Bitcoin, and have also actively made it an official part of their party platform. They are that serious.
The current one leading Presidential candidate Donald Trump has made many promises to support and grow the industry, proposing specific policies on what he would enact if elected.
Earlier this summer, Trump raised $25 million from private donors at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville (his second-highest fundraising during his three campaigns). US Bitcoin miners met with Trump at Mar-A-Lago to discuss what they need him to do as president to support their businesses.
While Republicans have relied on Bitcoin, we have seen the opposite with Democrats. At almost every hearing in Congress and the Senate, I look at the Democrats vote against favorable Bitcoin regulations and verbal attacks on the industry.
Just four months ago, Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters tried to argue at a congressional hearing that we should implement, not ban, a CBDC because countries like China are embracing it. She called it the next “space race.”
It is crystal clear to anyone watching these hearings in Congress and the Senate which side the Democrats have taken when it comes to Bitcoin versus CBDC.
This is my great fear.
If Harris were elected president, I think there would be little reason to support the industry, and every reason to continue attacking her, as she has done for the past four years as vice president.
These elections are a fierce battle for the power of the United States of America. People and industries and their sides, and if Kamala wins, she may not be so nice to the industries that tried to get their opponent president.
If Bitcoiners want to stop this industry from being attacked like it has been over the past four years, and see it thrive over the next four years, they need to make their voices heard at the ballot box this November – and whether they like it or not, they need to vote Republican .
This article is a To take. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.