Regulation
Crypto Lobby’s Bet on Trump Is a Mistake, Says Arthur Hayes – DL News
- BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes says Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance is inauthentic.
- Instead of hoping for a Trump victory, the cryptocurrency industry should work to get the law passed before the election.
- Hayes suggested making encryption a free speech right.
The cryptocurrency industry should not side with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
This is according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, who he wrote In a blog post published on Thursday, it is argued that Trump’s recent shift in favor of cryptocurrencies is not authentic.
“I am appalled that many cryptocurrency experts, who should know better, are now blindly organizing fanciful fundraisers for the Trump campaign,” Hayes wrote.
“Trump is a smart politician,” he added. “He will say anything to anyone who gets reelected. Once he gets in office, everything cryptocurrency will be a thing of the past.”
Traditionally crypto-agnostic, Trump he started making some openings to the cryptocurrency sector in May.
Since then, he met with representatives of the Bitcoin mining industry, they promised to forgive Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, and made cryptocurrencies an official part of the Republican platform.
In contrast to the Biden administration’s adversity, Trump’s newfound friendliness toward cryptocurrencies has been well received. Trump is now scheduled to speak at Bitcoin Nashville, the largest Bitcoin conference of the year, on July 25.
Instead of siding with Trump and risking disappointment after the election, Hayes argued, U.S. cryptocurrency holders should band together as a voting bloc and pressure Democrats to pass pro-cryptocurrency legislation now, promising their votes in return.
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“The best time to get real results is before the November elections,” Hayes said.
Over 20% of the US population owns cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reported in 2023.
“If this cohort voted together, they could easily decide which clown ascends to the throne,” Hayes said.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Crypto as Freedom of Speech
But not all old cryptocurrency notes are suitable.
According to Hayes, the cryptocurrency industry should work to ensure that cryptocurrencies (and other forms of money, such as gold or government-issued currencies) are protected as a form of free speech.
According to Hayes, laws protecting free speech would then apply to money, and regulations that would limit an individual’s ability to hold or transfer cryptocurrencies would become null and void.
Such a bill would make the United States the most cryptocurrency-friendly jurisdiction in the world, Hayes said.
“Making cryptocurrency could mean opening your own exchange, creating a new DeFi protocol, building a decentralized infrastructure, or pooling funds for investing or trading,” he said.
“It means innovation without permission. The kind of innovation that Pax Americana fanatics long for,” he added.
Money as a word is not a new idea in the United States. In 2010, the Supreme Court governed that donating money for electoral purposes is an act of free speech.
And even though the election is just four months away, there may still be time for a cryptocurrency push, according to Ron Hammond, director of government relations at the Blockchain Association.
“This is a unique position for cryptocurrencies because in the past this is when a lot of the active bills have been set aside,” Hammond said. published“It’s not like that anymore.”
Tom Carreras is a market correspondent at DL News. Have a tip on Bitcoin, Trump, and the U.S. election? Contact us at tcarreras@dlnews.com