Politicians become aware that there are voices in crypto

Politicians become aware that there are voices in crypto

Jane Hume, Australia's Minister of Financial Services, argued in a speech last month that the rapidly growing crypto industry had the potential to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and to boost Australia's economic growth by more than 50 percent

But if the country voted for the opposition Labor Party in the national elections on May 21, she said, nothing would happen. Australia would lose because the opposition would forbid digital assets "out of shyness" [and] an obsession to eliminate all risks and to protect consumers from themselves.

The contrast, she said, could not be bigger with the current government, which wanted the Australians to participate in the digital gold rush.

"There is a political reality here. I would welcome it if the support of the crypto industry were a cross -party topic, but it just is not," she told her audience.

This is the sound of politicians who become aware of the voter potential of crypto enthusiasts. Bitcoin and its competitors have gained popularity since the beginning of pandemic, and millions of people around the world now have digital assets that are worth more than $ 2 trillion.

With increasing popularity, attention was also attracted to chosen officials: Krypto becomes a small hot button topic, since political parties all over the world are wondering whether an attitude towards digital assets and their regulation could vote.

"It would not surprise me if crypto will be an issue in the next elections," said Sheila Warren, managing director of the Crypto Council for Innovation, a US lobby group.

"I think it is more likely at the moment at the local level. Up to the next election.

The digital asset industry already lets its lobby muscles play in Washington and Westminster, and cross-party supporters of the technology, which are known as "crypto-caucus", will become the leading power actors on the Capitol Hill.

The original ideology of crypto goes across party borders and attaches importance to libertarian ideas and social goals such as financial inclusion. But the regulation and the extent to which these tokens should be monitored by the authorities is a dividing line between the parties. The politically conservative parties tend to be a more liberal approach, while the liberals advocate stricter regulation.

In the United States, at least two states have candidates on a pro blockchain platform at this year's Senate votes, including the former children's actor Brock Pierce in Vermont.

"Everyone should support innovation and better technology. Unfortunately, it has become a partisan topic for some, as we have seen in the recent efforts to regulate more regulation," said Bruce Fenton, a well -known personality in the crypto industry that runs for Republican nomination in New Hampshire.

and crypto penetrates politics all over the world. At the beginning of April, the conservative British government announced a number of measures that aim to make the country a global center for digital asset companies and thus gave its strongest support for the sector so far. On the same day, the British Chancellor Rishi Sunak commissioned the Royal Mint with the output of a non -funnable tokens.

The attractiveness of crypto as a potential election winner is easy to understand based on the numbers, especially since digital assets are kept primarily by younger people. According to the data website blockchain.com, more than 80 million individual crypto wallets are currently active worldwide.

A survey by the Gemini crypto tour showed that 18 percent of adults in Great Britain have digital assets, while in the United States there is a comparable number of adults of such coins. They are mostly young, with more than 40 percent of crypto owners in the United States under 35 years old.

The numbers rise. Almost half of all crypto owners in the USA, Latin America and Asian-Pacific region have bought digital tokens over the course of last year, as the Gemini study shows.

"The latest Russian invasion in Ukraine and the sanctions of the US government have made many voters aware of digital assets," said Richard Levin, chairman of the FinTech and Regulation Practice at the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.

he added that the president's executive regulation also drawn the attention of the candidates for the congress for the topic of cryptocurrencies. There have already been some, such as Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming, who are pronounced supporters of the blockchain and whose campaigns would probably benefit from the support of crypto enthusiasts.

With the increasing number of crypto curiosities, the interest of politicians will only follow.

"I can say that with certainty: more and more candidates, whether incumbent or challenger, pay attention to crypto," said Warren.

Source: Financial Times