Trump or Biden - Who’s Better for Crypto?
As November’s critical election draws closer one presidential candidate has made his pro-crypto stance abundantly clear, but have any promises or policies been made?
For the first time in the nation’s history, crypto policy will take center stage and play a crucial role in the U.S. Presidential race. With over 52M cryptocurrency owners in the country, according to a Coinbase report, winning the crypto vote could well mean the difference between sitting in the Oval Office and hanging up your Campaign tie for another four years.
Where do Trump and Biden stand on crypto? Will Biden attempt to make amends for Gary Gensler’s crypto crusade? Will Trump, the self-proclaimed ‘crypto president’ deliver on his claims?
Biden’s Stance Over the Years
The Biden Administration has hardly been crypto-friendly in the last four years. Under Biden’s watch, Securities and Exchanges Commission Chair Gary Gensler has led a merciless campaign against the digital asset industry, serving lawsuits to crypto companies left, right, and center.
Gary Gensler hasn’t been alone in his fight against cryptocurrency. Senator Elizabeth Warren has strongly advocated against cryptocurrencies in the past, frequently using individual examples to paint the entire industry in a bad light.
With November only four months away, the Biden administration’s stance on crypto hasn't changed. A recent Statement of Administration Policy declared that the Administration was against passing H.R. 4763, a proposed regulatory framework for digital assets.
The decision was made due to the belief that “H.R. 4763 in its current form lacks sufficient protections for consumers and investors who engage in certain digital asset transactions.”
Despite refusing the framework, the Biden Administration maintains that it “is eager to work with Congress to ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets, building on existing authorities, which will promote the responsible development of digital assets and payment innovation and help reinforce United States leadership in the global financial system.”
Donald Trump - The ‘Crypto President’
Despite calling Bitcoin a ‘scam against the dollar’ back in 2021, Trump seems to have changed his tune on cryptocurrency. In a recent tech fundraiser event in San Francisco, Trump has rebranded himself as the ‘crypto president' evidently trying to win the vote of the nation’s population on digital asset holders.
Trump’s dramatic change of heart toward the cryptocurrency world has even made its way onchain. Arkham Intelligence, a popular blockchain analysis and tracking tool claims to have identified Trump’s crypto wallet, which holds over $7.9M of digital assets. The former President has also shown a penchant for NFTs having launched several Trump Digital Trading Card collections.
More recently, Trump has promised to “end Biden’s War on Crypto”. The Republic candidate has further declared that he is “very positive and open minded to cryptocurrency companies”. Aligning himself with the Bitcoin faithful, Trump views Bitcoin as “our last line of defense against a CBDC”.
These views align with Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, who expressed that a CBDC is “the last thing I think we need as a nation” and “would be very detrimental to our economy, to the dollar and certainly to innovation in this space” during a recent interview with Solana Head of Strategy Austin Federa.
Where are crypto companies aligning?
With Election Day looming ever closer, crypto companies in the U.S. are starting to pick their sides. Last week, Kraken founder Jesse Powell announced his support for Donald Trump by donating $1M to the Republican’s Presidential campaign.
Powell’s donation came following similar donations from the Winklevoss twins, co-founders of the Gemini Exchange, who collectively donated $2M to their preferred candidate.
What's more, crypto investment funds are starting to throw their hats in the ring and aligning themselves with conservative PACs (Political Action Committees). In a recent announcement, Multicoin Capital promised to match up to $1M in donations made to the Sentinel Action Fund, a PAC supporting crypto-friendly candidates.
Crypto mining firms are also more likely to side with Trump. The Republican candidate's energy policies will likely allow miners access to a wider range of energy sources. Meanwhile, Biden's budget proposal has called for a 30% tax on crypto mining.
Among the general public, crypto holders appear to be more inclined to support Trump. A recent Paradigm public opinion poll suggests that among digital asset owners, 48% favored Trump, as opposed to 39% who lent their support to the Biden Administration.
This draws a stark comparison to non-owners, who distributed votes far more equally, with 44% in favor of Trump and 43% in favor of Biden.
Ultimately, while Trump’s campaign has loudly supported cryptocurrency ownership, little in terms of actionable policy has actually been announced.
Whether or not voters will see any concrete plans ahead of the election remains to be seen. Crypto enthusiasts in the United States may have no option but to choose between Trump’s unbacked promises and the Biden Administration’s history of regulation by enforcement.
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