2024 Presidential Candidates’ Perspectives on Cryptocurrency: Insights from Trump, Kennedy, and Others

The upcoming presidential election in the United States in 2024 is set to be captivating and competitive as an increasing number of prominent candidates declare their intention to run.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have gathered significant figures who prioritize the economic well-being of Americans, the enhancement of the domestic healthcare system, US immigration policies, and other critical issues in their campaigns.

Several candidates have also addressed cryptocurrencies, pledging to foster the industry if they ascend to political leadership in America. In the following sections, we will examine those who have expressed support for the asset class and those who oppose it.

The Pro-Crypto Team of the Dems

The Democrats feature a prominent cryptocurrency proponent in Robert F. Kennedy. The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, who recently stated that Bitcoin piqued his interest at the start of 2022, committed to enacting several pro-BTC regulations if he wins the upcoming elections.

He has promised to safeguard Americans’ rights to own and utilize the leading digital asset. Additionally, he vowed to introduce legislation that promotes the growth of Bitcoin and allows individuals to manage their passwords, wallets, and nodes. He noted that his future administration would impose only essential regulations on the sector to combat money laundering.

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One of Kennedy’s most innovative commitments (having personally invested some of his wealth in BTC) is to support the US dollar with “real finite assets,” such as gold, silver, platinum, and bitcoin.

“My plan would be to start very, very small: perhaps 1% of issued T-bills would be backed by hard currency: by gold, silver, platinum, or bitcoin, and then depending on the outcome, we would increase that annually,” the candidate elaborated.

The American author and speaker – Marianne Williamson – is also a candidate running for President as part of the Democratic party. In contrast to Kennedy, she has not been particularly vocal about cryptocurrencies. However, she drew attention during the notable strike of Canadian truckers last year when local authorities froze accounts that facilitated crypto donations to the protestors.

“Canada, are you okay…?” she inquired at that time.

More Examples Among the Republicans

The most enthusiastic crypto supporters within the other major party in the United States include Ron DeSantis (Governor of Florida) and Francis Suarez (Mayor of Miami).

The former has pledged that one of his primary responsibilities as President (if elected) will be to terminate the current government’s war on Bitcoin. He has also expressed opposition to the potential introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), asserting that he would discard that initiative immediately upon taking office.

Suarez appears to be an even stronger advocate for BTC than Florida’s Governor. He has initiated several projects related to the leading digital asset in Miami and became the first American politician to receive his salary in bitcoin rather than fiat. However, he has not yet made any crypto-related promises should he win next year.

An interesting detail related to him is that his campaign recently received a $500,000 boost from an anonymous donor. According to Miami Herald, that individual was Ivan Soto-Wright – CEO of the crypto platform MoonPay. The Campaign Legal Center has filed a complaint, claiming that the contribution violated federal laws as it was initially concealed through a third party.

The American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is also a Republican candidate who supports BTC. However, he has opposed Kennedy’s recent proposal to back the dollar with Bitcoin, arguing that precious metals would be more effective at this time.

Trump Leads the Anti-Crypto Club

When discussing presidential candidates with an adversarial view of the cryptocurrency sector, Donald Trump cannot be overlooked. The billionaire who served as America’s 45th President has expressed over the years that the asset class is “potentially a disaster waiting to happen” and could undermine the US dollar. He has also suggested that Bitcoin might be a scam, urging people to concentrate on the dollar instead:

“The currency of this world should be the dollar. And I don’t think we should have all of the Bitcoins of the world out there. I think they should regulate them very, very high. It takes the edge off of the dollar and the importance of the dollar.”

On another occasion, the business magnate voiced concerns that the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency industry could be “a very dangerous thing.”

While Trump has criticized Bitcoin and altcoins, his wife, Melania Trump, embraced the trend by launching an NFT platform on the Solana blockchain.

The former President followed his wife’s lead and introduced a digital collection featuring himself in various outfits, such as wearing a Superman cape, holding a rifle, and dressed as a pilot, among others. Notably, the Donald Trump Digital Trading Card collection experienced heightened interest in the hours following his arrest in April this year.

While the current President of the United States – Joe Biden – has not been as extreme as his rival, Trump, he could also be categorized among the crypto skeptics. He included the asset class in his economic report earlier this year, stating that digital currencies are “mostly speculative investment vehicles” that do not fulfill all the functions of money.

Biden’s administration has also indicated that Bitcoin mining is detrimental to the environment and provides no significant economic advantages to the country. Consequently, it has urged Congress to enact a 30% climate change tax on cryptocurrency miners starting from the next fiscal year (beginning October 1).

It remains to be seen whether, on November 5, 2024, America will have a crypto supporter as its 47th President or if the position will be filled by someone who is unlikely to allow the local industry to prosper.

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