Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin issued a warning on Wednesday about choosing candidates based on whether they claim to be “pro-crypto.” In a blog post, Buterin said it’s more important to scrutinize a candidate’s broader policies to ensure they support the fundamental goals of cryptocurrency, including internationalism and protecting private communications.
“If a politician supports cryptocurrencies, the most important question is: Did they participate for the right reasons?,” Buterin wrote. “Do they have a vision of where technology, politics and economics should go in the 21st century? Does it align with yours?”
Buterin did not mention any politicians or cryptocurrency investors by name, but his comments come just a day after Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. The Andreessen Horowitz founders said in a podcast yesterday that Trump’s cryptocurrency regulation plan is a “full-on endorsement of the entire space.” The influential venture capitalists join other prominent Silicon Valley players, including Elon Musk, who have endorsed Trump in the past week.
The Ethereum co-founder also argued that signaling support for a “pro-crypto” candidate could lead politicians to maliciously promote the cause. Buterin specifically points out that authoritarian leaders in Russia have claimed to support cryptocurrencies in order to consolidate power.
“It doesn’t matter if they support a ban on encrypted messaging, are power-hungry narcissists, or are pushing legislation to make it harder for your Chinese or Indian friends to attend your next crypto conference. What politicians should be doing is making it easy for you to trade your coins,” Buterin said.
The Ethereum co-founder suggested looking at the views of “crypto-friendly” politicians on cryptocurrencies five years ago. He says this could be a guide to whether politicians will change their stances five years from now.
In particular, former President Trump was a vocal opponent of decentralized tokens five years ago. In a July 2019 tweet, Trump said, “I don’t like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies because they are not money.” He followed up with a tweet saying, “There is only one real currency in the United States, the U.S. Dollar.”
But in May, Trump completely reversed course on cryptocurrency, becoming the first major presidential candidate to accept Bitcoin donations. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s cryptocurrency fundraising campaign raised $3 million in donations in the second quarter.
