The absurdity of crypto’s presence in America’s political circus

Crypto crashed into the American political scene like a bad reality show no one asked for. And now, November 5 is about to be America’s first “crypto election,” with hundreds of millions of dollars pouring into political campaigns.

Kamala Harris, out of nowhere, is now talking about embracing “innovative technologies,” while Donald Trump—who once called Bitcoin a scam—jumped into the crypto game headfirst months ago.

He’s promising to turn America into the “crypto capital of the planet.” Really? This is what politics has come to?

American crypto voters might not be all that important

Apparently, there’s a “crypto voter” now.

According to the executive director of Stand With Crypto—a lobby group backed by Coinbase, the biggest crypto exchange in the U.S.—this mysterious group is real, bipartisan, and ready to flex some political muscle.

They even give politicians grades based on how pro-crypto they are, with Trump getting an “A,” and Kamala having a N/A.

But it’s unclear if this is really a thing. Sure a handful of dudes care about crypto regulation, but most Americans seem more worried about actual problems like paying rent, affording healthcare, or literally just keeping their heads above water.

The idea that there’s this massive group of voters who care about crypto above all else seems absurd when you look at literally any national poll.

Most people don’t actually care about crypto exchanges getting regulated or if Brian Armstrong (Coinbase’s CEO) keeps getting richer.

The whole “crypto is a national priority” angle is being pushed hard, though, with lobbyists throwing around numbers like 52 million Americans supposedly owning crypto.

There hasn’t been any concrete proof of this figure by the way.

That has not stopped Stand With Crypto from claiming these supposed crypto holders are dying to have their voices heard in the upcoming election.

They even say nearly nine out of ten Americans think the financial system needs an upgrade. But if we’re being real, this is about keeping the crypto industry’s elites’ pockets lined, not helping the average Joe.

The industry is doing just fine mind you. Bitcoin’s price has quadrupled since the last election, and the value of the entire crypto market has skyrocketed.

If anyone’s losing sleep, it’s the ones who got burned by shady exchanges like FTX .

Despite Trump’s claim that the Biden-Harris administration is “extremely hostile” to crypto, the market’s thriving, with almost a third of the world’s crypto workforce based right here in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the pro-crypto Fairshake super PAC has raised over $200 million so far.

Do the candidates actually care?

Let’s talk about Kamala Harris. Until recently, she didn’t have much to say about crypto. That changed last week when she mentioned supporting “innovative technologies” at a Wall Street fundraiser.

Stand With Crypto gave her a B for her crypto stance before later downgrading her as I mentioned previously. But get this. She hasn’t really promised anything.

Her comments were just vague enough to not upset the tech industry while keeping regulators happy. Trump, on the other hand, is milking the crypto community for all it’s worth.

He’s sold four collections of NFTs and even lets people contribute to his campaign using crypto. If you think he’s genuinely invested in the future of blockchain technology, think again. 

Recent actions blatantly show that he’s in it for himself. He showed up at the Nashville Bitcoin conference and told people to “have a good time with your Bitcoin and your crypto, and everything else that you’re playing with,” because yes, that’s how seriously he takes the industry.

Trump’s understanding of crypto is about as deep as a kiddie pool, but at least he admits it. 

During the launch of his latest venture, World Liberty Financial—yet another project with his sons—he compared learning about it to learning Chinese.

Whatever the hell World Liberty Financial is supposed to be, nobody really knows. But the majority of it is owned by him and his family, so I guess we can rule out decentralization.

Then there’s Barron Trump, the apparent “DeFi visionary.” According to Trump, his 18-year-old son has four crypto wallets and “knows this stuff.”

I mean okay. Not exactly a vote of confidence, but what else would you expect from Donald Trump?

In the end, it’s all about the money. Crypto may not matter to the average American voter, but the cash behind it sure should.