Cryptocurrencies take center stage in the U.S. presidential election
“Cryptocurrencies are now center stage in U.S. politics, as the industry's deep pockets have helped fund political campaigns,” Bloomberg writes. “Some have characterized Bitcoin as the so-called Trump trade. This is because Trump has consistently put out a very pro-crypto message during his campaign. He vowed to make the US a global crypto hub and buy BTC as a strategic reserve asset. His family even launched their own DeFi project. He also promised to replace the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), something the industry has been clamoring for.
Both Trump and Harris are expected by many in the crypto space to take a different regulatory direction than current President Joe Biden. In the meantime, the SEC has brought enforcement actions against numerous crypto companies. This has led the industry to criticize the government for not coming up with a new framework, but only regulating one way or another.” “Bitcoin is up more than 60% this year alone, significantly outperforming global stocks and gold. As of 17:00 local time on Tuesday, BTC was up 3.1%, marking its biggest gain in a week. BTC had not seen much movement in the sub-$70,000 price range. Liquidity provider Orbit Markets predicts that Bitcoin options volatility will be around 8% the day after the US vote.”
Meanwhile, anti-crypto U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who was running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, has reportedly won re-election. Warren's opponent was pro-crypto attorney John E. Deaton. Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett explained, “The crypto industry spent $2.6 million to support John Deaton, but not a dime on Warren.”
Conversely, Jim Justice, the governor of the US state of West Virginia, was elected to the West Virginia Senate after defeating his rival, Senator Joe Manchin. Justice's campaign had previously received $3 million from Defend American Jobs, a super PAC that supports the crypto industry. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also donated $3,300 to Justice's campaign.
