Crypto and the U.S. Presidential Race
Former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has seemingly changed his tune on cryptocurrencies.
In May, Trump said that if elected, he would commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the cryptocurrency supporter and former operator of the black market website Silk Road, who is currently serving multiple life sentences. Although Trump has previously said he is ânot a fanâ of crypto, his campaign announced in May that it will now accept cryptocurrency donations.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at the Consensus 2024 event in late May, signaling his support for blockchain innovation and his commitment to protect the industry from hostile regulators.
Consensus 2024 was a cryptocurrency industry-related event hosted by crypto media company, CoinDesk.
Kennedy has previously highlighted the potential power of cryptocurrency to help protect the transactional freedom of Americans.
Phillip Shoemaker, executive director of Identity.com, says the 2024 election may be the first in which major U.S. politicians use cryptocurrency policies to attract voters.
âCongress pushed forward a market-structure bill as a way to properly regulate crypto, and this represents huge progress for the space,â Shoemaker says.
He says there are many voters in the crypto space that are one-issue voters, and politicians seem to be wising up to the opportunity that stance creates.
âYou have Trump and RFK Jr. speaking positively about cryptoâand, again, this is totally novel.â
Source: Forbes
