2024 is a super election year. Key elections will be held in dozens of countries and regions around the world, involving a total population of more than 4 billion. Among them, the US election is undoubtedly the biggest focus. However, what is different from the past is that among all the super political action committees participating in the 2024 US election, the topic of cryptocurrency ranks third in popularity.
I still remember that four years ago, it was rare for a presidential candidate to discuss the issue of Bitcoin on the campaign trail. Three years ago, when El Salvador was the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, everyone was still on the sidelines. However, during last year’s primaries, the situation began to change, and the era of crypto’s political marginality seems to be over. Never again.
On the one hand, the duel between former President Trump and current President Biden is making various efforts to win the support of crypto voters; on the other hand, many crypto companies plan to inject large amounts of cash into the 2024 U.S. presidential election, and there are already signs that , these funds are helping the crypto industry win more support in Washington.
In addition, according to 2023 statistics, among the 12 primary candidates participating in the 2024 US presidential election, 5 presidential candidates have clearly publicly stated their support for Bitcoin and the encryption industry. At the end of December 2023, Argentine President Javier Milais elected. It is reported that Milley’s policy proposals include dollarization, ending currency controls, closing the central bank, drastically reducing national expenditures, and actively supporting Bitcoin...
So which presidents and regions around the world have clearly stated their support for Bitcoin?
President of El Salvador: Armando Bukele
In 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to officially recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. In 2021, El Salvador designated Bitcoin as legal tender and also launched Chivo Wallet, a government-designed digital wallet application through which users can pay with U.S. dollars or Bitcoin. At the time, Bitcoin was trading at about $36,000.
The person who prompted this decision was El Salvador's President Armando Bukele. On the one hand, El Salvador is an agriculture-driven economy that relies too much on overseas remittances as an important part of its gross domestic product; on the other hand, Bukele is eager to lead El Salvador on the road to prosperity after taking office, coupled with his The political parties hold 64 out of 84 seats and have absolute decision-making power.
When Bitcoin prices fell to a low of about $16,000 in November 2022, Bukele announced that El Salvador would begin purchasing one Bitcoin per day.
In March 2024, according to foreign media reports, Bukele said that the country’s Bitcoin holdings may exceed public estimates, and posted on Twitter that El Salvador is earning Bitcoin-related income through its passport plan , which converts Bitcoins into U.S. dollars for use in local businesses, mining and government services, said the Bitcoin investment portfolio has a market value of nearly $205 million and has made $83 million in profits from its Bitcoin investment strategy.
Extended reading: Compilation | El Salvador’s road to the Bitcoin Kingdom: BTC legalization, bonds, volcano mining, wallet development...
Then on March 14, Bukele posted again that his country was preparing to store "a large portion" of Bitcoin assets in "cold wallets" and other related offline devices.
However, a study published in Science magazine in December 2023 showed that since El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, Bitcoin has not been widely used in the country, and "digital payments (application scenarios) are rare and concentrated."
President of the United States (former president, candidate)
At the end of 2024, the United States will hold the next presidential election. Although the polls will not start until November 5, 2024, dozens of American politicians have expressed their intention to compete with the current Democratic President Joe Biden.
Among the 12 candidates running for the 2024 US presidential election, the 5 presidential candidates who have clearly publicly stated their support for Bitcoin and crypto assets include 4 Republican candidates: Donald Trump, Ron DeSanti Sri Lanka, Francis Suarez, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the Democratic Party. According to data from FiveThirtyEight at the time, among Republicans who had announced their candidacy, Donald Trump had the highest approval rating at 54%; Ron DeSantis ranked second at 17%.
Sure enough, Trump and Biden started a battle for the "encrypted election."
As we all know, the current Biden administration (Democratic Party) seems to have been taking an anti-crypto stance, so once a pro-crypto candidate is elected, this could have a huge impact on the next crypto bull run. Judging from the current attitudes of the parties towards encryption, most of the Democratic Party, led by Biden, has a cautious attitude towards encryption. Especially after the collapse of FTX, the Democratic Party has firmed up the direction of strict supervision. The majority of the Republican Party, led by Trump, has rarely shown a tolerant attitude towards encryption, perhaps in order to show their different political views and attract votes.
Further reading: Why is cryptocurrency a central issue in the 2024 US presidential election? Political donations broke records, FTX collapsed, and the US dollar crisis...
As Trump continued to preach "encryption-friendly", supported technological innovation, and opened an encryption donation website in May, Biden and other Democrats could no longer sit still, began to relax, and simultaneously announced the recruitment of Meme managers.
Perhaps encryption only accounts for a very small part of the entire U.S. election, but this does not mean that encryption voters are unimportant. It may be that a certain small policy will have a greater impact on voter support.
Donald John Trump
Although Trump has publicly expressed his negative attitude towards encryption during his previous term as president (January 2017-January 2021), believing that crypto assets are "thin air", he has been very cautious in his actions in the past two years. "Honest" has become one of the most proficient presidential candidates currently playing cryptocurrency.
The NFT project he launched on December 16, 2022, the Trump Digital Collection Card, earned a total of US$4.87 million after all the sales were sold out. In the crypto wallet suspected of being his own, according to a disclosure by the Washington non-profit organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) on August 14, 2013, he also holds nearly $2.8 million in crypto assets (ETH).
Extended reading: Thank you Trump NFT for bringing so much "joy" to the bear market
Trump currently leads other Republicans with a considerable advantage in the polls. However, as more and more Republicans announce their candidacy and Trump is implicated in the case, who will ultimately represent the Republican Party in the 2024 U.S. presidential election is still full of questions. unknown.
Ron DeSantis
On July 31, 2023, at a campaign event in New Hampshire, US presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke about the current situation of the Biden administration’s continuous suppression of crypto assets and crypto institutions since 2023. :
“When I’m elected president, Biden’s war on Bitcoin and crypto will end.”
"We will allow Americans to invest in Bitcoin and crypto assets. No one is forcing you, but if you want to buy (crypto assets), you can buy it."
DeSantis also firmly opposes CBDC (central bank digital currency). He believes that unlike cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency transfers the power of individual consumers to the central government on a large scale, giving the federal government the ability to control where money goes.
DeSantis also said, "If I were president, from day one, we would abolish central bank digital currencies."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Another person who invests in crypto assets is Robert Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for President of the United States in 2024. He is a member of the famous political family, the Kennedy family, and is the nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy.
On July 24, 2023, Kennedy Jr. attended a Bitcoin conference in Miami and announced that his campaign would be "the first presidential campaign in history to accept Bitcoin donations via the Lightning Network."
On July 27, he confirmed on Twitter that he indeed held Bitcoin and had purchased 2 Bitcoins for each of his seven children. He emphasized that Bitcoin is an anti-inflation currency, which gives retail investors the freedom to hold fiat currencies that are governed by the system. He wants to exempt Bitcoin from capital gains taxes.
Like DeSantis, Kennedy Jr. is firmly optimistic about the future of Bitcoin and encryption, and has promised to the public that if he is elected president , he will gradually use Bitcoin to support the US dollar. He explained that this is a step-by-step process, and the plan will start on a very small scale, maybe only 1% of the national debt will be backed by hard currency, gold, silver, platinum or Bitcoin.
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The other two presidential candidates: Vivek Ramaswamy and Francis Suarez, are currently less likely to become the President of the United States in 2024 according to polls, but they are not impossible. Possibly, and they are also supporters of Bitcoin.
But unlike DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy said he is a fan of Bitcoin, but will not use Bitcoin as a commodity to help stabilize the dollar :
“I think Bitcoin doesn’t yet meet the criteria for the commodity basket for a number of reasons. Bitcoin may become part of the commodity basket at some point in time, but for some technical reasons I won’t today. Include it."
Presidential candidate and Miami Mayor Suarez will accept Bitcoin for presidential campaign donations. During his time as mayor, Suarez became known for his advocacy of cryptocurrency. He vowed to make Miami a Bitcoin hub, and he followed through by accepting a salary in Bitcoin as mayor. Suarez is also deeply involved in the development of the crypto industry and believes that the United States needs a president who understands crypto assets and artificial intelligence technology.
President of Argentina: Javier Milei
Javier Millay is an Argentine economist who was previously a member of the Argentine National House of Representatives and a leader of the liberal movement. He was successfully elected in the November 2023 presidential election.
The famous American journalist Tucker Carlson conducted an interview with Milley, which has been viewed more than 421 million times on Twitter. One of the key takeaways from this interview is the dollarization of the Argentine economy. Throughout the proposal, Milai has emphasized the importance of abolishing Argentina’s central bank and talked about the opportunities that Bitcoin could provide for this process.
In his scenario, Bitcoin will become the main currency as a remedy for Argentina’s inflation after the country’s central bank is closed. Before the presidential campaign, Milley appeared on multiple talk shows, often promoting the benefits of Bitcoin and crypto assets, believing that "Bitcoin can eliminate central banks."
On November 20, 2023, or due to Millay's election, Bitcoin, which was hovering at US$30,000, rose to exceed US$37,000, a 24-hour increase of 2.3%.
Since his election, and particularly in recent weeks, contrary to some previous reports, the Milais administration has not pushed for Bitcoin standards in Argentina . Many messages are clarifying that Javier Milais has no actual policy to support crypto, and stating that although Milais is positive about Bitcoin and criticizes the central bank, his main economic proposal is the dollarization of the Argentine economy, not the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.
Milley’s comments about Bitcoin “returning money to its original creator, the private sector,” were taken out of context to suggest broader policy measures to adopt Bitcoin, which he did not propose.
Is this a lesson for the US election and the development of encryption?
Mexican presidential candidate: Indira Kempis
Kempis is currently a Republican Senator of the 65th Federal Congress of the Civic Movement Party. In late August 2023, amid internal disputes over the party's future, she announced her intention to become Mexico's first female presidential candidate.
Kempis is well-known among Bitcoin and crypto-asset advocates because she has been outspoken about the opportunities that early adoption of Bitcoin could bring to Mexico. The senator has been encouraging the crypto economy over the past few years since taking office in 2018. According to Bitcoin Magazine, she has also pushed for Mexico to enact Bitcoin regulations similar to those in El Salvador.
Kempis made headlines in 2022 when she proposed a bill to establish a CBDC, in which she proposed that the central bank of Mexico be the sole issuer of digital pesos, although it did not mention crypto.
However, after the cryptocurrency community criticized the introduction of a CBDC, Kempis supplemented the bill to include Bitcoin, hoping to make Bitcoin, the first crypto asset, legal tender in Mexico.
Mexico’s central bank has yet to provide an analysis of the CBDC bill, and lawmakers have received mixed reactions. For example, some senators expressed strong opposition, believing that although Bitcoin is legalized in El Salvador, Mexico "will not accept" Bitcoin as legal tender.
She also actively participated in some crypto-related activities. For example, in Nuevo Leon, the province where she was born in August 2023, she participated in promoting the relevant certification of the "My First Bitcoin" course.
However, the Mexican presidential election has begun on June 2, 2024. On June 3, Claudia Sheinbaum, the presidential candidate of the electoral coalition of the Mexican ruling party National Renewal Movement, announced in the capital Mexico City that she had won the election. She won the presidential election and became the first female president in Mexican history. She will take office on October 1, but her encryption position has not been revealed much.
While this result is important first and foremost for Mexico’s advancement of gender equality, the current Mexican government is likely to continue its policies and strategies on crypto regulation in the future, so we can keep an eye on it.
Current Prime Minister of the UK: Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak, the new leader of the British ruling Conservative Party, officially took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on October 25, 2022.
During his tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sunak actively promoted economic policy and financial legislation. Although there are no clear crypto events directly related to him, his policies and decisions have had an impact on the British economy and financial sector.
- While serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer in April 2021, Sunak proposed that the British Treasury and the Bank of England explore the establishment of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- In April 2022, Sunak called for the recognition of stablecoins as an effective payment method.
When asked by reporters a few months before his election, Sunak said that he preferred BAYC to Crypto Punks. Rather than choosing one or two cryptocurrencies, he prefers a portfolio of multiple cryptocurrencies. It can be said that his focus on encryption is extremely high and long-lasting.
Extended reading: Yuga Labs laid off employees for the second time in half a year: We have lost our way... BAYC’s floor price has rebounded, what’s the next step for the BAYC?
After taking office, Sunak began to promote the pound stablecoin and said, "My ideal is to make the UK the center of global crypto asset technology." Later, stablecoins were included in the scope of supervision and cryptocurrency became one of the recognized payment methods.
And in April 2023, he also proposed to make the UK an encryption-friendly technology center and planned to launch the UK’s official NFT.
However, the British general election will be held on July 4, 2024, which may cause the ruling Conservative Party to lose power. According to voting intention surveys, the Labor Party is currently expected to win the upcoming election. The Labor Party has not yet made clear its stance on the encryption industry and is currently silent on encryption legislation. However, they have expressed their desire for the UK to become a Tokenization center and expressed support for England. The bank’s plans for a digital pound.
President of the Central African Republic: Faustin-Archange Touadéra
The President of the Central African Republic is a loyal "believer" in Bitcoin and has always supported and committed to the promotion and application of Bitcoin. In April 2022, it was announced that Bitcoin would be adopted as legal tender, and tax payments would be accepted as crypto payments. In addition, a legal framework was established to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies, making the Central African Republic the second country after El Salvador to officially adopt Bitcoin as a currency. A country with legal currency is also the first country in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as a payment currency.
In April of the same year, he pushed the National Assembly of the Central African Republic to pass a bill declaring the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender to help the country's economic recovery and construction.
In May of the same year, the "Encryption Center" project Project Sango was released to attract global encryption enthusiasts and planned to build an encryption island and a digital wallet. At the same time, it was stated that the Central African legislative body has passed the "Tokenization Act" and approved the tokenization of land and natural resources. However, as the crypto bear market deepened, the plan did not develop smoothly.
But the President of Central Africa said
"If everyone is not optimistic about Bitcoin, then we will issue our own national cryptocurrency."
In July of the same year, Central Africa launched the public sale of the national cryptocurrency Sango Coin, positioning Central Africa as a "cryptoeconomic country." Sango Coin is deployed on the Bitcoin side chain and interacts with the Bitcoin main chain, allowing users to conduct transactions between Sango Coin and Bitcoin. The initial public sale price is US$0.1, and the total supply is 21 billion. Token sales are divided into 12 cycles, and the price gradually increases to the final US$0.45. Central Africa also offers various empowerments, such as purchasing and staking Sango Coin in exchange for citizenship, obtaining e-residency, or acquiring land property by staking Sango Coin.
However, two months after the public sale of Sango Coin, the Constitutional Court of the Central African Republic ruled that using Token to purchase land and citizenship was unconstitutional. In addition, the country’s national parliament announced in March this year that Bitcoin would be changed from a fiat currency to a benchmark cryptocurrency.
It can be said that despite the ups and downs, China and Africa are still exploring on this road.
Prime Minister of Japan: Fumio Kishida
The Japanese government has a relatively open attitude towards crypto, is considered one of the leading markets for crypto assets in the world, and has adopted a series of regulations and measures to regulate and promote the development of cryptocurrencies.
In April 2017, Japan officially regarded crypto assets as a legal means of payment and promulgated the "Payment Services Law" to regulate crypto CEX/DEX and service providers.
In addition, the Japanese government has also established a specialized agency, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), to oversee crypto CEX/DEX and related businesses. The FSA scrutinizes exchanges and takes steps to ensure the safety of users’ funds.
In November 2021, Fumio Kishida, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected Prime Minister of Japan. After taking office, Fumio Kishida made a speech:
"With the shrinking workforce and the urgent need to utilize digital technologies, Japan will actively promote digital transformation in the public and private sectors."
In June 2022, the Japanese Parliament passed a bill clarifying the legal status of stablecoins, essentially defining them as digital currencies. Since then, Japan has become one of the first major economies to introduce a legal framework for stablecoins.
Later, Fumio Kishida proposed Web3.0 as the pillar of economic reform, and released a white paper in April 2023 to solve issues such as digital currency tax reform and NFT. This white paper covers all Web3.0 from NFT to DAO. Regulatory proposals have been developed for related matters.
In July 2023, Fumio Kishida gave a speech at the WebX Summit hosted by the media CoinPost, saying that Web3 technology has the potential to subvert the traditional framework of the Internet and lead social change. The Japanese government is working hard to improve the development environment of Web3.
On February 16, 2024, the Fumio Kishida government also approved a bill to enhance Japan's industrial competitiveness - the "Industrial Competitiveness Strengthening Act". The bill will take measures to add crypto assets to the list of assets that can be acquired and acquired by investment limited partnerships. This is a major change in the policy that will directly allow venture capital firms to invest in projects that specifically issue crypto assets.
It can be said that after Fumio Kishida was elected Prime Minister in 2021, he immediately developed encryption-related industries such as Web3. The passage of these bills this year means that Japan will further open up and develop digital assets.
Former President of Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also took an open and positive stance on encryption policy. He has stated that he will support the legalization of Bitcoin as a legal tender and hopes that Brazil can become the first country to adopt Bitcoin. During his term, he has not levied value-added tax or income tax on crypto transactions. He also supports the Brazilian Central Bank in researching the issuance of digital currency. wait.
In addition, in April 2022, Bolsonaro approved a bill in the Brazilian Senate after lengthy deliberation. This is Brazil's first bill to manage encryption, which will lay the foundation for establishing a regulatory framework for the country's encryption industry.
The bill was first proposed by a federal congressman in 2015. Finally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed the bill, legalizing the use of cryptocurrency as a means of payment in Brazil.
Overall, Bolsonaro has promoted the openness of Brazil’s encryption policy, but also hopes to use digital assets to strengthen national sovereignty and control. His policies were instrumental in promoting Brazil as the crypto hub of South America.
summary
It can be seen that crypto-assets headed by Bitcoin are penetrating into the development process of various countries in the form of economy or politics. The emergence of crypto-asset-friendly countries has accelerated the journey of crypto from fringe finance to mainstream finance.
As more countries realize the potential of blockchain technology and digital currencies, we may see a more integrated and robust global crypto market.
