The midterm elections in the U.S. have come to a close. While the final votes are being counted and recounted, and a number of politicians are complaining about the results, the cryptocurrency industry is going to enjoy some extra support. A few states have elected governors and other legislators that have built their platforms on the promise of expanding cryptocurrency adoption.
In Colorado, Jared Polis (Democrat), won the right to take over the governor’s mansion. Polis is a dedicated crypto supporter who has often said that he would fight the “anti-crypto” mantra that exists and push for more legislation at the federal level.
The new governor has long been a crypto supporter. He made his position well known in 2014, when he was serving as a member of the House of Representatives, when he said that he would use his powers in Congress to fight against crypto restrictions. Polis beat his Democratic opponent, Colorado state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, by a 6% margin.
Polis has said that, as governor, he wants to use blockchain technology to improve elections and that he wants to create a “statewide safe harbor designed to exempt cryptocurrencies from state money transmissions laws.” He is also a co-founder of the Congressional Blockchain Congress, a group formed in February of last year for “the advancement of sound public policy toward blockchain-based technologies and digital currencies.”
Out west, California has also decided that a crypto enthusiast needs to be its governor. The state’s former Lieutenant Governor, Gavin Newsom, will replace Jerry Brown, who is being forced out by term limits. Given that The Golden State is already known as the hotbed of tech innovation, having Newsom at the helm is a perfect fit.
Newsom, a Democrat, said four years ago, “I should promote the technology ever so subtly by saying I’ll accept bitcoin in the campaign… I’m ready for it, but how the hell do I explain it to anybody?”
Gavin beat Republican John Cox, a man who has been John Kaplan (his name at birth), an entrepreneur, an accountant, an attorney, a politician and both a Democrat and a Republican – he switched parties after losing a bid for a delegate position with the 1976 Democratic National Convention.
Both Polis and Newsom are in for a challenge, but they have the political power to make change. 2019 will almost certainly turn out to be a pivotal year for cryptocurrencies and blockchains.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
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60% of Americans believe that it should be legal to donate cryptocurrencies for election campaigns, under the same rules that apply to U.S. dollar donations.
Research company Clovr, surveying 1,023 eligible voters in the country, also found that only 21% disagreed that cryptocurrency donations should be allowed.
At present, cryptocurrency donations are treated as in-kind contributions limited to $100 worth at the time of donating. This is based on a 2014 ruling, when the price of BTC was around $440.
54% of respondents said that cryptocurrencies were secure enough to be used for political purposes, while 73% of those who claimed to be knowledgeable about digital currencies said that security was not a problematic issue.
Only 42% saw cryptocurrencies as financially stable enough for political purposes. 52% of self-identified Republicans answered in the affirmative, whereas only 40% of Democrats and 35% independents did so.
Only about 25% said they would be more willing to donate to campaigns if cryptocurrencies were an option like fiat currencies. “[M]ost contributors still prefer to donate with U.S. dollars, but a growing number said they would prefer to either give exclusively with digital currencies or a combination of both dollars and cryptocurrency,” Clovr noted.
Even though more than half of respondents supported legality of cryptocurrency donations, 62% said cryptocurrencies were more likely to be used illegally in the U.S. political system, compared to the U.S. dollar. “Even a slight majority of people who were incredibly familiar with cryptocurrency believed illegal campaign activity would increase,” Clovr said.
The firm added, “State governments haven’t yet jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, but if the FEC [Federal Election Commission] and other federal agencies expand its use, then history indicates many will follow.”
Already, several politicians have made use of cryptocurrency donations in their campaigns, including Brian Forde, running for California’s 45th Congressional District, who received the support of, among other investors, the Winklevoss twins, founders of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
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