Is Bitcoin a Right-wing Thing?
Do Bitcoiners all wear MAGA Hats?
“Bitcoin advocacy is a sequel to the January 6th attack” on the US Capitol building in Washington.” - Dave Troy, writer, speaker.
Is it?
Americans are sharply divided. Right versus left. Conservative versus liberal. More so than ever before, it seems. Does this hyper-partisan spirit prevail in views on money, on currencies? It’s actually not too clear.
Cryptocurrencies in general are thought to be the domain of younger adults, the millennials. Younger Americans lean decidedly left in their political views. So therefore, would crypto be a more leftist innovation? Baby boomers are thought to be anti-crypto, though that may be just their lack of understanding of the technology. Don’t older Americans seem to be more right-leaning than younger folks? Wow, the picture is getting really muddied.
Where Do Political Figures Stand on Crypto?
Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming is easily the biggest pro-Bitcoin member of the US Senate. She’s a Republican. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott are also pretty big proponents of crypto and blockchain technology. Republicans, all. Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio is also a big Bitcoin fan. He’s been a staunch advocate of limited, sensible regulation of Bitcoin, in fear that the US will continue to lag behind the world in adoption of new technology. He’s a Republican, too.
Some of the most outspoken Bitcoin critics are on the left side of the aisle. Consider this quote from California Democrat Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the House financial services panel:
“Currently, cryptocurrency markets have no overarching or centralized regulatory framework, leaving investments in the digital assets space vulnerable to fraud manipulation and abuse.”
That’s the side of Bitcoin that most Democrats tend to dwell on, that there is not enough oversight and the possibility of fraud. Republicans tend to see the decentralized nature of Bitcoin as a feature, not a flaw.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a ranking member of the Banking and Finance committees, is also not a fan of cryptocurrencies. She has made the statement that crypto is “controlled by shadowy, faceless groups of super-coders.” She favors some heavy-handled regulation of the new currencies.
So far, it seems that Bitcoin advocacy is clearly a right versus left thing. But wait.
“I want to be on the side of the innovator”
Some non-Republicans are Bitcoin fans it seems. The above quote is from Democratic Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon. Wyden is skeptical of coming down too hard with cryptocurrency regulation. He is currently working across the aisle with Sen. Lummis on a common-sense bill to regulate crypto in the US.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, also a Democrat, is teaming up with Lummis as well. Maybe crypto is the issue to get both major parties to work together. Wow, Bitcoin fixes this too?
Newly-elected Mayor of New City Eric Adams vowed to make the Big Apple the Bitcoin capital of the country. Adams even takes half of his salary in crypto, split between Bitcoin and Ethereum. And he’s on the left side of the aisle. Hmmm.
Where does former President Donald Trump stand? Well, he’s on the record as saying that crypto is “a scam, that’s an effort to overturn our banking system.” So not a fan. While technically a Republican for the last seven years, Trump had previously supported Democrats, so his views on crypto are not clearly indicative of where Republicans generally stand. His wife Melania, however, is getting involved in the NFT space, so she seems open to crypto and blockchain.
Bitcoin is clearly a Libertarian thing though, right?
That is pretty clear. Libertarians generally support any ideas to free the citizens from government control. Who are the prominent Libertarians in the US? Former Senator Ron Paul, and his son, current Senator Rand Paul. Big Bitcoin proponents, both. Rand has stated that if people continue to lose trust in their government, that Bitcoin could become the reserve currency of the world.
And Ron Paul? He was a featured speaker at the Bitcoin Conference 2021 in Miami Beach.
What About Ethereum?
Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is generally thought of as being favored by the left. And with good reason. The quantity of Ethereum tokens can be increased infinitely, and so right-wingers of course hate it. They generally call Ethereum fiat currency in a digital form, “lipstick on a pig.”
Ethereum was also pre-mined, that is, the founders kept 70% of the coins for themselves, unlike with Bitcoin. Sounds more like a Silicon Valley startup, right?
Proponents of Ethereum, and the smart contracts that ride on its rails, generally support the platform because it has the potential to builder a fairer society. More importantly, many on the left see cryptocurrencies as a path to overthrowing the big banks.
Noted Bitcoin Critic, Paul Krugman:
Economist Paul Krugman, no fan of Bitcoin, says crypto is a product of right-wing extremism. He cites the general distrust of big institutions and government by those on the right as the many reasons they support crypto. Makes sense. Questioning this distrust, Krugman says, “Are banks really untrustworthy?” If past performance is any indication of the future, then yes, maybe banks cannot be trusted.
Krugman also said that banks have exhibited “no evidence of widespread monetary abuses.” Again, not sure where he gets that view from. And remember, Krugman is the economist who once famously said “the internet will have no greater impact on commerce than the fax machine.” So consider the source.
Concluding Thoughts
Bitcoin, but not all of crypto, is a decidedly Libertarian idea. Freedom from government, distrust of politicians, and individual responsibility. All Libertarian ideals.
Right-wingers are generally advocates of Bitcoin, especially the features of the hard-capped currency and the decentralized nature of the currency. Features that can protect against inflation and money printing, not to mention other government tyranny.
Progressives should welcome the potential of crypto to empower citizens in developing nations and also to empower women and get more into the financial system. In addition, Bitcoin is a leading industry in the development of renewable energy, as miners will always seek out lower cost, renewable sources of electricity. Another factor that those on the left should embrace.
Millennials, in my experience, are not decidedly in favor of cryptocurrencies. Despite the belief that younger adults like crypto more than Boomers, it’s been my experience that many twenty-somethings like their money controlled by big government.
If Bitcoin Twitter is an informal survey of right versus left views, then Bitcoin proponents are decidedly right-wingers. The common threads of Bitcoiners on social media are red meat, anti-vaccine, anti-masking and Bitcoin only. No altcoins, either.
One Final thought: Bitcoin itself is not conservative or liberal, young or old. It’s software, it’s a technology. And it’s for all the people.
Issue No. 54, April 29, 2022
Rick Mulvey is a CPA, forensic accountant and crypto consultant. He writes about all things Bitcoin, and yells at the Yankees and Giants. He also runs marathons and makes wine, neither professionally.
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