- BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes says Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance is not genuine.
- Instead of hoping for Trump to win, the cryptocurrency industry should be working to get legislation passed before the election.
- Hayes suggested enshrining cryptocurrencies as freedom of speech.
The cryptocurrency industry should not ally itself with likely Republican nominee Donald Trump.
That’s according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, who wrote in a blog post on Thursday that Trump’s recent shift toward a pro-crypto stance is not genuine.
“I am dismayed that many cryptocurrency experts who should know better are now blindly organizing fancy fundraisers for the Trump campaign,” Hayes wrote.
“Trump is a shrewd politician,” he added. “He will say whatever he wants to whoever he is re-elected to. Once in office, everything related to cryptocurrencies will be a distant memory.”
Traditionally agnostic on cryptocurrencies, Trump began making overtures to the cryptocurrency industry in May.
Since then, he has met with representatives of the Bitcoin mining industry, promised to pardon 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 new friendly attitude toward cryptocurrencies has been welcomed. Trump is scheduled to speak at Bitcoin Nashville, the largest Bitcoin conference of the year, on July 25.
Rather than siding with Trump and risking post-election disappointment, Hayes argued, American cryptocurrency holders should unite as a voting bloc and pressure Democrats to pass pro-crypto legislation right now — and pledge their votes in return.
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“The best time to get concrete results is before the November elections,” Hayes said.
More than 20% of the US population owns cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reported in 2023.
“If this cohort votes 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.
Cryptocurrencies as freedom of expression
But not just any cryptocurrency bill will do.
Hayes said the cryptocurrency industry should push for cryptocurrencies (and other forms of money, such as gold or government-issued currencies) to be protected as a form of free speech.
In this way, laws protecting free speech would apply to money, and regulations that would restrict an individual’s ability to own or transfer cryptocurrencies would be nullified, according to Hayes.
Such a bill would make the United States the most pro-cryptocurrency jurisdiction in the world, Hayes said.
“Doing crypto could mean opening your own exchange, creating a new DeFi protocol, building decentralized infrastructure, or raising funds to invest or trade,” he said.
“It means permissionless innovation. The kind of innovation that Pax Americana fans are nostalgic for,” he added.
Money as a form of speech is not a new idea in the United States. In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that giving money for election purposes constitutes a protected form of speech.
And while the election is just four months away, there may still be time for a push for cryptocurrencies, according to Ron Hammond, director of government relations at the Blockchain Association.
“This is a unique position for crypto because in the past this was when a lot of the active bills fell by the wayside,” Hammond posted. “That’s not the case now.”
Tom Carreras is a markets correspondent at DL News. Do you have any information on Bitcoin, Trump and the US elections? Write to us at [email protected]
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