Blockchain
Trump’s appeal to Bitcoin miners is a wake-up call for cryptocurrencies to remain apolitical
Former President Donald Trump is asking for it a domestic bitcoin mining industry develop in the U.S. Perhaps with a bit of hyperbole, the Republican presidential candidate said Tuesday that he wants “all remaining” bitcoin – about 2.1 million units – to be produced in the United States, arguing that this would help the country become energy independent and to counter the development of a central bank digital currency.
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The announcement followed, made on his social media platform Truth Social a chat between Trump and Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey before representatives of major bitcoin mining companies CleanSpark, Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The latest in a series of increasingly pro-crypto statements – including pledges to defend the right to self-custody, to accept donations for crypto campaigns and to “keep Elizabeth Warren and her minions away from your Bitcoin” – has sparked backlash mixed opinions from cryptocurrency supporters. Perhaps this is not so surprising, given that the former president (whose favorability rating has never been above 50%) is polarizing in the United States.
However, this is it probably It’s the first time since 2019 – when Trump declared he was “not a fan” of Bitcoin – that the former reality star has missed the cryptocurrency mark. The idea of onshoring bitcoin mining is completely valid and has been in the works ever since China is banned the practice in 2021. But, if you take Trump literally, demanding that all bitcoin miners be located in a single region suggests a profound ignorance of what Bitcoin is, how it works, and why it is powerful.
However, this is just an opinion. There are many others. Alex Bergeron of Bitcoin Magazine, for example, argues that Trump’s statement is a powerful signal for the importance of cryptocurrencies.
“We definitely want the most powerful man in the world to signal to all other power brokers that Bitcoin mining is a geopolitical issue. This is how you will convince everyone to start mining. This is how you decentralize the network,” Bergeron wrote, responding to climate change expert and Bitcoin Policy Summit co-founder Margot “jynurso” Paez.
Paez supported that centralizing hashrate production in a single country – especially one where politicians and regulators have recently been hostile to cryptocurrencies – is perhaps unwise. President Biden’s administration, for example, has floated the idea of a hefty 30% tax on bitcoin mining.
In any case, it is unlikely that the hashrate will ever centralize in one region, given that there are bitcoiners all over the world, who would be difficult to prevent even the President of the United States from mining.
So the real question here is whether the US attempt to dominate the bitcoin mining trade through government support or even subsidies would inspire other governments to incentivize domestic mining. It’s far-fetched, but global leaders often look to the United States to set their agendas. The problem is Trump’s particularly low standing among the aforementioned global leaders.
So it’s hard to say whether this campaign platform actually moves the needle on bitcoin mining. Especially because it’s impossible to say whether Trump’s pro-crypto statements should be taken as compliant or flattering. He is certainly a divisive figure among bitcoiners – and not just among progressive ones.
Many consider it frankly embarrassing to befriend a politician, putting aside Trump’s Napoleonic-sized ego. Bitcoin writer and privacy advocate L0la L33tz, for example, wrote an entire essay on the topic, arguing that politicians can’t be trusted, that Trump has failed to deliver on many of his previous campaign promises, and that Bitcoin doesn’t even need political support.
“When your morals can be bought, you are not a patriot: you are a sellout,” L33tz wrote.
In addition to being an internally consistent view considering the ethics of Bitcoin, it is worth noting that L33tz’s position is also likely to be optically better in the long term for the development of the industry.
It might seem appropriate to align yourself with the Republican Party’s standard-bearer, given that most political support comes from the right. But I think the point of view of someone like Marvin Ammori of Uniswap (who debated major Trump supporter Ryan Selkis at Consensus 2024 last month) – that the cryptocurrency industry should Strive to be neutral and apolitical – is probably the best strategy.
I have discussed earlier that it is inevitable that cryptocurrencies, as celebrities of the cause, will become a problem for the right to defend themselves and the left to defame. But should you want it?