Since Donald Trump became vocal Support Bitcoin Heading into this year’s presidential campaign, I have had a range of emotions and concerns.
Outside of Bitcoin, as a left-leaning voter and vocal critic of Donald Trump, I am deeply concerned about having such an egocentric and narcissistic individual once again in power in the Oval Office, not to mention the damage this could do to issues I care deeply about in the US, such as a woman’s right to choose, reproductive rights, immigration, and international affairs.
I discovered Bitcoin and started writing, running Progressive Bitcoiner, and advocating for Bitcoin to people outside the right-wing/libertarian camp because I was concerned about Bitcoin being perceived as “right-wing” and politically polarizing. Bitcoin is open-source code, digital peer-to-peer cash, and does not belong to any particular ideology or party. I believe Bitcoin is key to fundamentally improving the world and the lives of millions and billions of people. We’ve already seen campaigns starting from the left, such as: Greenpeace USAElizabeth Warren’s Anti-crypto armyBut more than that, Bitcoin is a haven for criminals, terrorists, climate change deniers and fossil fuel tycoons, and is a haven for the wealthy and Wall StreetBitcoin is the most, no, the most… Sustainable industry on planet earthand the list continues to grow. Human Rights Use Cases Moreover, appealing to progressives and leftists for Bitcoin (yes, I’m talking specifically about Bitcoin, not cryptocurrency) remains an uphill battle. What should we expect after years of Bitcoin’s loudest voices pushing various right-leaning ideologies, books like the Bitcoin Standard, various right-wing lifestyle maximalist tropes including a carnivore diet, traditional family values, skepticism of science and climate science, etc.
The Trump campaign and Bitcoin supporters openly donating to, engaging with and cheering for Trump has made my job that much harder. Figuratively speaking, we have gone from going fishing (regarding Bitcoin’s steady adoption) to throwing a grenade into the water without any hesitation on how this will affect the bigger picture.
The reality is that since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, and Hillary Clinton and the Democrats’ increasing willingness to label Trump’s supporters as “deplorables” (yes, I’m quite critical of the left!), political polarization has skyrocketed, leaving most people feeling politically homeless (some surveys suggest that between 70 and 100 million Americans feel this way).
The left is corrupted by purity culture. If your opinions, means to an end, etc. are not approved by the left wing administration (or you are not familiar with dozens of left wing philosophers and the latest theories), you are out! Aside from Trump and Bitcoin supporters, this is also why it is so hard to get them to engage with Bitcoin, because it is not something their tribe uses, it is right wing money (according to them).
The right has been taken over by Trump and the party of worthless depravity. Conservatives/Republicans used to be a values-driven party based on policies and principles that I could agree with or disagree with. Now it is total chaos fueled and led by Trump who has no political philosophy or values, just ego.
Bitcoin should be a tool to cut through all this noise; in this case, a useful and valuable tool for any ideology. Instead, I am deeply concerned about the potential for this narrative to cling to Trumpism for the next few years and beyond. Am I ultimately concerned about Bitcoin, its code, its usefulness, use cases, etc.? Not for Trump/political reasons. Not necessarily (I am concerned about regulatory capture by ETFs, centralization of mining, lack of privacy, better tools for peer-to-peer use of Bitcoin, etc., but that’s a story for another day).
I think it would simply be a bad move for Bitcoin supporters to throw all their energy into supporting Trump, or any other political cause. There is serious reputational risk for those (especially on the left) who view Bitcoin as “Trump” or “right wing” and try to promote this idea, which would slow Bitcoin adoption in the US and politicians would respond by becoming more vocal against Bitcoin.
As for the social layer of Bitcoin, I think it is in our best interest to continue educating people about Bitcoin, advocating for grassroots adoption at the individual/community level, and holding politicians accountable when they try to overstep their bounds (like Elizabeth Warren wants to pass a ban on Bitcoin bill). No backdoor self-custody…No, we are not going to tolerate that, much less acknowledge that it is patently unconstitutional, nor are we going to desperately cling to the words of some politician on a purely vote-grabbing campaign trail, regardless of who that politician is or what happens once they’re in office (or what they can actually do with the legislature or judiciary).
As an independent voter, I sincerely wish Bitcoin and its long-term success, and that as many people around the world as possible use and benefit from this revolutionary money and technology. Because of Bitcoin, and for other reasons outside of Bitcoin and my values stated above, I cannot in good conscience support Donald Trump. You do not have to vote for Donald Trump in order to support, learn about, or use Bitcoin, or contribute to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Whether you agree with me or not, with the growing chorus of Trump supporters in the Bitcoin community, I hope that those on the outside looking in understand that we are not all on the same page, and that no matter which party you vote for in November, Bitcoin is beneficial to everyone.
This is a guest post by Trey Walsh. The opinions expressed here are entirely the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
