Odero Kester
On June 27, Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican opponent Donald Trump convened for their first debate in the same state after a gruelling four years. What positions do the two political competitors have on cryptocurrency, a topic people are increasingly interested in?
Biden on Digital Assets
The current president has not mentioned cryptocurrencies, and Uniswap, Mark Cuban, Pantera Capital, and other prominent people have pushed Biden to reconsider.
Biden’s selection of Gary Gensler as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been controversial. During his time in office, Gensler has hit the cryptocurrency industry with many lawsuits and enforcement actions.
Furthermore, a lot of people hold him responsible for the U.S.’s crippled domestic cryptocurrency economy because of his insistence on classifying tokens like Uniswap (UNI), Ripple (XRP), and others as securities. Strangely enough, the SEC authorised spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin (BTC) this year.
Weakened, the crypto community is not simply upset with Gensler’s appointment. After the House of Representatives approved the Financial Innovation and Technology Act of 2021 (FIT21), a bipartisan law that supported cryptocurrency, Biden chastised it.
Despite saying it “lacked sufficient protections for consumers,” the president stated that he was open to collaborating with Congress to create legislation suitable for the digital asset market. Biden now seems keen to win the cryptocurrency vote and could start donating cryptocurrency in collaboration with Coinbase.
Experts are beginning to speculate whether the decision to approve the Ethereum (ETH) ETF was solely political due to the extreme scepticism surrounding the Democratic Party’s intentions with cryptocurrency. This may strengthen the opinions of crypto supporters who were already inclined to support Trump.
Trump Regarding Crypto
Trump’s reversal of cryptocurrency has been entertaining. The presidential candidate has substantially shifted his position on cryptocurrency and Bitcoin and is winning over the crypto crowd.
Trump has started to accumulate non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Whether the idea was successful or not, it attracted much attention and received feedback from well-known YouTube artists.
Recent polls showing that Trump is the most popular candidate among Bitcoin owners came from a relatively small sample of 1,000 voters, with 7% of them owning more than $1,000 in cryptocurrency. According to other survey data, almost one-third of respondents believe cryptocurrency is a problem, and half say they don’t trust politicians who meddle in the space.
During the campaign, PMP has made specific promises in addition to his numerous cryptocurrency-related undertakings. In addition to declaring that Bitcoin is the “last line of defence” against foreign enemies and promising to expand the Bitcoin mining industry in the United States significantly, he has also personally sworn to “end Joe Biden’s war on crypto.”
Memecoins with a political bent
With the possible exception of SEC chairman Gary Gensler, Trump and Biden are the most well-known politicians in the cryptocurrency world.
You will see dozens of tokens with Trump-related themes if you simply glance at the marketplace. Among them are MAGA (TRUMP), Trump Mania (TMANIA), Baby Trump (BABYTRUMP), Pepe Trump (PTRUMP), and many others.
Some, such as the Solana-based TrumpCoin (DJT), assert their connection to the former president, but others do not. Still, the Trump name is widely recognised in the industry.
Biden is another well-known figure in the sector. Among them are the appropriately called Joe Biden (BIDEN), as well as the less well-known Jeo Boden (BODEN), Dark Boden (DOBEN), and Hunter Biden’s Laptop (LAPTOP).
Following Hunter Biden’s guilty judgment, BODEN tokens and other BODEN meme coins saw a little uptick, as did LAPTOP, which speaks to the more cynical and hilarious side of cryptocurrency.
The American presidents, both past and present, have certainly gained cultural significance in the Bitcoin space, but could they win an election?
With 40% of American adults already holding cryptocurrency, the topic is becoming increasingly relevant to voting. However, it is currently unclear if it may influence an election’s result.
Industry titans are also commenting on the election. According to Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple (XRP), candidates who support cryptocurrency are likely to receive a higher percentage of votes. Again, he said that establishing more precise laws for “one of the U.S.’ fastest-growing industries” would be no harm.
If Biden is reelected, Gensler may hold the position of SEC chair, in which case rules about cryptocurrencies may continue to move slowly. The current president’s support for the comprehensive, pro-crypto FIT21 law has the potential to sway cryptocurrency votes in favour of Democrats.
That said, rules regarding cryptocurrencies throughout his campaign could be too little or too late.