“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 trafficking and other illegal activities.”
Fortunately, the official position of the Republican Party has changed dramatically since President Donald J. Trump condemned the emerging crypto industry in those uncompromising terms in 2019.
Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee adopted an ambitious platform to promote innovation in the U.S. digital asset industry and protect the rights of bitcoin holders.
First, the official platform promises that Republicans will “defend the right to mine bitcoin.” This represents a much-needed departure from the current administration’s policies.
In February of this year, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued an “emergency” survey to bitcoin mining companies, requesting highly sensitive information such as the specifications of the machines they use, the specific locations of their mining operations, and contractual information regarding their commercial energy partners. The EIA not only demanded all of this information, but also promised to publish even the most commercially sensitive portions of it.
This initiative represented an unprecedented intrusion into the operations of Bitcoin miners and a massive attack on the crypto industry. It prompted organizations like the Texas Blockchain Council to launch legal proceedings to try to protect the rights of the crypto industry from federal interference. The Republicans’ pledge to “defend the right to mine bitcoin” is therefore very welcome.
There are other encouraging promises that Republicans have made. The GOP has said that they will “ensure that every American has the right to control their digital assets and transact without government oversight and control.”
They have also spoken out strongly against the idea of a CBDC. “Republicans will end the Democrats’ illegitimate and un-American crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency,” the party said.
Of course, all of this is very encouraging for proponents of the digital asset industry. But it still begs the question. What made President Trump change his mind and embrace the enormous potential of digital assets and decentralized finance? How did this pro-digital asset agenda end up in the spotlight of presidential politics?
If there’s one man who’s done more to change Republicans’ minds about crypto than anyone else, it’s Vivek Ramaswamy. The former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur is clearly gaining influence within the GOP’s inner circle. At the Republican National Convention this month, Donald Trump Jr. joked that he’d like Ramaswamy to be his running mate in 2036. Since his presidential bid last year, it’s been clear that he’s one of the leading voices in the upper echelons of the Republican Party pushing the party in a more pro-crypto direction.
Ramaswamy made waves in GOP circles last year when he unveiled a detailed, comprehensive plan for the U.S. crypto world at the North American Blockchain Summit in Texas.
What did he promise to do? Perhaps the most notable measure was his promise to fire most of the employees at the bloated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and order the rest to stop bullying the crypto industry. Importantly, Ramaswamy defines many cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as commodities and therefore does not fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction.
“I find it absolutely embarrassing that Gary Gensler, the current head of the SEC, couldn’t even say to Congress whether Ethereum was a regulated security or not,” Ramaswamy said during one of the Republican debates last year. “This is just another example of the administrative state gone too far.”
Ramaswamy is an outspoken advocate for innovation in the crypto space and the use of decentralized digital currencies as a tool for financial freedom. He has argued that the right to code should be a right protected by the First Amendment, which shields developers from the overreaches of federal agencies.
He has also said that consumers should have the right to own self-hosted digital wallets that are outside the reach of the government. This has now been explicitly adopted by Republicans for their 2024 election campaign, showing the practical influence Ramaswamy has on Republican policy.
It’s not just Ramaswamy who has positively influenced Republican policy. In May of last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis introduced a law banning the use of CBDC in the state. The regulation “prohibits the use of a federally adopted CBDC by excluding it from the definition of money in the Florida Uniform Commercial Code.”
Efforts like these have been essential in raising awareness among Republican leaders about the dangers associated with CBDCs and pushing them to take action.
But perhaps the most important impact of Ramaswamy’s crypto activism is that he has convinced the Republican Party as a whole that supporting crypto innovation is in line with their political philosophy and natural instincts.
He has argued forcefully that the current federal assault on the crypto industry is “an embodiment of our national decline” in that it is an attack on innovation and entrepreneurship, two values that Republicans have always claimed to hold dear.
Ramaswamy has similarly noted that Bitcoin mining is “a frontier in American innovation” in the same tradition as American heroes like Thomas Jefferson — who Ramaswamy believes “would have been a Bitcoin miner.” This rhetoric appears to have worked to convince President Trump and Republican leaders that they should indeed be the pro-Bitcoin party.
Another important rising figure in the Republican Party who shares Vivek’s views on digital assets is Trump’s recent VP pick, JD Vance. Senator Vance has been outspoken about his support for bitcoin and digital assets and has a background in tech venture capital. He is young and understands the importance of recruiting younger votes.
So, what will “four more years” of President Trump mean for the US digital asset industry?
Let’s end as we began, with another quote from the president — one that shows just how much the Republican position on crypto has changed in recent years, thanks to the efforts of Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Vance, and others.
“I will end Joe Biden’s war on crypto. We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin is made in America.”
This is a guest post by Mark Shut and Lee Bratcher. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.