(Kitco News) – The U.S. election season is in full swing as former president Donald Trump and current president Joe Biden are set to square off for a second time in November – with finances, debt, and the state of the U.S. economy looking to be major factors in who gets elected as the next commander-in-chief.
Last week, Trump reiterated his support for the crypto industry, telling a crowd in Wisconsin that in order “to further secure America's future and create opportunity for young people,” he plans to “end Joe Biden's war on crypto.”
"We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of #Bitcoin will be made in America, otherwise other countries are going to have it,” Trump said.
His positive comments stand in stark contrast to statements about crypto that have come out of the Biden Administration, which has looked to crack down on various aspects of the crypto market – from reigning in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry to efforts to identify most digital assets as securities.
But with Biden trailing Trump according to multiple recent polls of voters in key battleground states, Biden’s administration has started to soften its tone regarding cryptos in an effort to woo younger voters.
“The Biden Administration is shifting its tone on the digital asset sector,” said analysts at Pantera Capital in a June 18 letter. “There have been reports of Biden’s re-election campaign reaching out to players in the blockchain space requesting guidance on crypto policy moving forward.”
Pantera Capital provided additional insights regarding the motives behind the recent about-face from Biden’s campaign, saying, “NewsFlash: crypto owners vote.”
“The majority of Americans are under the age of 40,” they said. “Lightbulb moment… One of the American Presidential candidates came out strongly in favor of blockchain. Very crafty move – as many of the young people who own crypto are so passionate about its importance to the world that they are single-issue voters. This stance seems likely to draw young people to a candidate they might not have considered supporting before.”
“The other then scrambled to change his administration’s position,” they added. “A massive 180 with the SEC now rushing to get Ethereum ETFs approved. The market odds of the SEC approving this ETF went from 6% to effectively 100% in the space of only two weeks.”
“I can’t remember seeing such an entrenched policy changing so quickly,” one analyst said. “Without regulatory drag, hundreds of millions of people – and soon billions – can enjoy the benefits of blockchain.”
Monday also brought news that Carole House, one of the authors behind U.S. President Joe Biden’s executive order on digital assets, rejoined his administration as the White House National Security Council’s special adviser for cybersecurity and critical infrastructure policy.
House is currently listed as an adviser for regulatory and university groups studying emerging technology, including the Digital Dollar Project and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Her work history shows she left her position as a virtual currency advisory board member at the New York State Department of Financial Services and as an executive in residence at Terranet Ventures to rejoin the Biden administration in an election year.
Despite Biden’s recent outreach to the crypto community and efforts to improve economic matters, his pivot is too little, too late for many, including ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood, who has already decided that Trump would be better for the economy moving forward.
“I am going to vote for the person who’s going to do the best for our economy. I am a voter when it comes to economics,” said Wood, speaking at the Millionaire Symposium event in Las Vegas this weekend. “And on that basis, Trump.”
She added that the first three years of the Trump administration before the COVID pandemic were the “best in US economic history,” to further support her reasoning.
Wood joins a host of other pro-crypto executives who have thrown their support behind Trump, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who both donated $1 million worth of Bitcoin to Trump's campaign before being partially refunded because their contributions exceeded the maximum $844,600 that the Trump committee can legally accept per person.
“President Donald J. Trump is the pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business choice,” Tyler wrote in an X post on Thursday. “This is not even remotely open for debate. Anyone who tells you otherwise is severely misinformed, delusional, or not telling the truth. It’s time to take our country back. It’s time for the crypto army to send a message to Washington. That attacking us is political suicide. This is why I will be casting my vote for President Trump in November and I hope you will too. Onward!”
