By accepting Bitcoin as a campaign donation and announcing a plan to relax tax limits on Bitcoin mining in the US, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has made a bold move.
In an interview with CBS News, Ramaswamy expressed confidence that his aspirations to become the next US president can be realized thanks to the vibrant Bitcoin ecosystem.
“The thriving Bitcoin universe should actually better empower me to do what I want to do as the US president, which is to stabilize the US dollar as a unit of measurement and put the Federal Reserve back in its place with that as its single mandate,” he said.
Vivek Ramaswamy will make his new Bitcoin policy public during the Miami Bitcoin 2023 conference
According to the CBS News report, Ramaswamy will make his new Bitcoin policy public during the Miami Bitcoin 2023 conference.
The Republican is not the first candidate to accept donations made in digital currency, though. Senator Rand Paul did this back in 2016. He also accepted the virtual money as contributions to his presidential campaign.
Others who have declared candidacies for the White House, like former President Donald Trump, Senator Tim Scott, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and South Carolina Governor Joe Biden, are not yet accepting cryptocurrency donations.
“Right now, I’m more focused on policy. It also just gives people the choice to donate to the campaign in Bitcoin and signal that we’re not threatened by it,” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy’s suggestion has significance in that it supports the ability to mine Bitcoin in the US. Bitcoin mining requires a lot of energy, and the US has lately overtaken China as the industry leader after China scaled back its mining operations to address energy consumption issues.
In its budget for 2024, the Biden administration has however suggested a 30% tax on the electricity consumed by cryptocurrency mining enterprises. It is improbable that such a tax would pass given the Republican majority in the House.
Ramaswamy fiercely disagrees with this tax and believes it to be unfair and an abuse of government authority.
He contends that energy consumers in general, including Bitcoin miners, should not be treated differently. According to the reported statement of the businessman, We’ll put that into the rules and preserve the freedom to mine by rescinding and committing against any special taxes for the utilization of energy for purposes of mining.”
Despite the fact that Bitcoin’s value has increased over the past ten years, market uncertainty and governmental restrictions continue to make it very volatile. Despite this turbulence, Ramaswamy thinks cryptocurrencies can provide a substitute for those worried about the strength of the US dollar.