Ethereum Creator Vitalik Buterin Argues Against Supporting only ‘Pro-Crypto’ Politicians

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Sujha Sundararajan

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July 18, 2024

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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, on Wednesday, warned against voting candidates solely based on their crypto support. His comments come at a time when politicians, particularly Republicans are using crypto to influence the US elections.

Against choosing your political allegiances based on who is "pro-crypto"https://t.co/rEbRjZYtFB

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 17, 2024

Vitalik Buterin cautioned the crypto community that merely voting candidates based on their “pro-crypto” stance without understanding the technology’s primary goals.

“I argue that making decisions in this way carries a high risk of going against the values that brought you into the crypto space in the first place.”

He advocates for a broader evaluation that aligns with the fundamental values of decentralization, privacy and technological freedom. He stressed on how early advocates promoted decentralization to safeguard individual freedoms beyond financial transactions.

Buterin’s warning comes at a time when Donald Trump, who claims himself a pro-crypto presidential nominee, recently picked pro-Bitcoin senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his choice for running mate.

‘Pro-Crypto’ Candidates’ 5-Years-Ago Stance Could Tell a Tale: Buterin

Vitalik Buterin has further called crypto users to look into crypto-friendly politicians’ view on cryptos 5 years ago.

“Similarly, look up their views on related topics, such as encrypted messaging five years ago. This can be a good guide on what kinds of changes to their views might happen five years in the future,” he wrote.

Buterin has used Russia’s example to illustrate how “crypto-friendly” policies can be applied to benefit the government. He argues the community to be vigilant and avoid blindly supporting politicians who might use crypto support to further authoritarian agendas.

“By publicly giving the impression that you support ‘pro-crypto’ candidates just because they are ‘pro-crypto’, you are helping to create an incentive gradient where politicians come to understand that all they need to get your support is to support ‘crypto’.”

In-Contrast With Trump’s Crypto Ideology Supporters

The US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has amassed several crypto industry leaders lately due to his widely-promoted crypto-friendly stance.

Trump’s campaign received donations in cryptocurrencies, after he promised to defend the rights of those who choose to self-custody their coins. This means, users do not need to rely on centralized crypto wallets like Coinbase to hold their tokens. Instead, they can hold their cryptos in personal wallets.

For instance, he received $2 million worth Bitcoin from crypto billionaires Winklevoss twins, founder of Gemini exchange. Elon Musk and Venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) also made significant donations to political action committees supporting Donald Trump’s campaign.

Ryan Selkis, the co-founder of crypto information platform Messari, has blasted Buterin for his warning post. Selkis openly called himself as “a single issue voter,” throwing his support for Trump, as he likes crypto. He was also present at Trump’s recent Mar-a-Lago gala for NFT holders.

“I respect Vitalik but he has always been among the most naive and useless political commentators in crypto,” Selkis wrote on X. He said Buterin is wrong in his thoughts.

“Idealism is not realism, and he pretends we aren’t dealing with a cultural cancer and infestation of Marxism.”

I respect Vitalik but he has always been among the most naive and useless political commentators in crypto. Idealism is not realism, and he pretends we aren’t dealing with a cultural cancer and infestation of Marxism.

He’s wrong.@VitalikButerin I’m always happy to chat. https://t.co/mMFKnv6uBI

— Ryan Selkis (d/acc) 🇺🇸 (@twobitidiot) July 17, 2024