The whole world is preparing for the 2024 US presidential election, which will reset the country for the next four years. Citizens will have to choose another president and vice-president, for which Joe Biden and Donald Trump are running for election. Besides their impressive status and influence, other promising figures, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ron DeSantis, have entered the election.
All candidates made important promises on supposed movements to improve the US, but one particular sector in which the majority increased their efforts is crypto. Both the Democratic and Republican parties want to open the country to the infinite possibilities of Bitcoin, especially Ron DeSantis and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. However, Biden stated that cryptocurrency has no value and doesn’t benefit the country, which is why the media showcased his attitude as making a “war against Bitcoin.” His opponents are taking advantage of these statements, and while Trump too doesn’t seem to be a fan of digital assets, the Republican presidential candidate is using this testimony against him.
The trigger: charges made against crypto exchanges
Although America wants to open its gates to cryptocurrencies and regulate them, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is doing anything possible to protect citizens. The institution has made several complaints over the years on issues with crypto exchanges regarding register failures in accordance with the law, leading to the taxation and limitation of these exchanges. Some have been requested to trade only with Bitcoin until further notice is provided.
Ron DeSantis is using the fact that the President selects SEC administrators, but the agency isn’t linked with the government whatsoever. Biden’s open-to-interpretation opinions gave his opponent a tool for enriching presidential possibilities.
However, Biden provided regulation on cryptocurrency in 2022 when he doubled capital gains
taxes through a 30% tax increase on crypto mining electricity usage. While this was a step forward in mitigating sustainability and the effects of crypto mining on the environment, the executive order didn’t sit well with miners.
What is DeSantis proposing if he wins the presidential election?
While his main strategy is to take advantage of his biggest opponent’s opinions on cryptocurrency, the Republican candidate stated that he would let Americans invest in Bitcoin and any kind of cryptocurrency without forcing anyone to do so.
Moreover, the candidate proposed to ban the use of CBDCs (central bank digital currencies), which are issued by governments in an attempt to minimize cryptocurrency risk but still provide people the chance to invest in digital assets. He also signed a bill on the prohibition of national CBDCs as money in Florida. DeSantis considers Bitcoin as challenging the actual regime.
Why are candidates so focused on cryptocurrencies?
The US has one of the biggest and most important crypto markets in the world, following countries like South Korea and Japan. Therefore, it should also be the one to bring more regulations into the sector to protect citizens from volatility and strengthen security matters.
However, the country is somewhat unsure about how to classify digital assets in the first place, not deciding if they’re commodities or securities.
Although the SEC agreed on regulating Bitcoin as a commodity, after considering factors like the lack of a central entity, other cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum, are still under the eye of the institution. That’s because while Bitcoin proved to be reliable and safe over an extended period, there are way too many cryptocurrencies to regulate at the moment, and each has unique characteristics that must be analyzed before a legal framework is developed.
Bitcoin’s Potential of improving America’s financial security
Nine in ten Americans know about cryptocurrency, but only around 20% of adult citizens state they’ve owned digital assets and actually use them. While these numbers might not provide an accurate image of the situation in America, the increased interest in crypto can mean something good for the country.
Bitcoin, for example, is deflationary due to its limited supply and disinflationary effect on miners, called halving. Experts believe that Bitcoin is able to protect Americans from inflation, which has been one of the highest recently since 1982.
The decreasing purchasing power of the US dollar, declining trust in taking credit and the risk of treasury bonds led to increased demand for Bitcoin, which helps solve all these issues. Upon its market debut, the cryptocurrency was set to address the devaluation of fiat money that became a serious problem after the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009.
Therefore, the world is changing; treasury-bond holdings aren’t that reliable anymore. It is expected that Bitcoin’s liquidity will increase over time, along with its value, which many investors are waiting for worldwide.
The government is taking steps toward Bitcoin regulation
Regulating Bitcoin isn’t that easy, and the government knows that, but with a little effort and innovative approaches, institutions can find ways to make Bitcoin 100% legal and easy to use by citizens. The cryptocurrency is already taxable, which is another improvement in the way governments tackle cryptocurrencies.
Establishing a regulatory environment is only the first step, among multiple others, because the country also needs a strategic Bitcoin reserve and forget about a centralized US digital currency that would make savings and checking accounts unusable. At the same time, such institutions would get access to a lot of information about their consumers, which threatens privacy and economic freedom.
Currently, the US government has validated four bills on the use of cryptocurrency concerning issuance aspects, blockchain, altcoins and self-custody. With these new regulations, citizens have a stable framework regarding legal matters, but this is also the starting base for financial institutions to take responsibility for the economic situation worldwide and switch from the traditional way of making and holding money to the new and innovative ways of doing it.
Bottom line
As US Presidential elections are coming closer by the month, candidates are giving everything to become people’s favorites. Among other essential subjects, cryptocurrency is a trending concern that separates Democrats from Republicans, therefore making DeSantis fight Biden and Trump, his biggest opponents.