Hello and welcome to the FT Cryptofinance newsletter. This week, we’re looking at JD Vance’s crypto stance.

For cryptocurrency fans already excited about the prospect of former President Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House, his choice of running mate could hardly have been better.

In J.D. Vance, bitcoiners see one of their own. The author of Hillbilly Elegy not only owns a lot of bitcoin (at least he did in 2022, his most recent financial records show), but he has championed the cryptocurrency as an alternative to traditional finance. That’s music to the ears of an industry that sees itself as the victim of unfounded hostility from U.S. regulators.

“Overall, it’s a positive thing for crypto because the current administration and the regulatory situation in the U.S. has been very challenging,” said Alexander Blume, chief executive of trading firm Two Prime. “It could only get better.”

From Vance rise in US politics was helped by prominent venture capitalist and cryptocurrency enthusiast Peter Thiel, for whom Vance worked briefly early in his career. Thiel later helped fund Vance’s successful Senate bid and, in addition to giving him an education in technology, has even been credited with his spiritual awakening and conversion to Christianity.

The possibility of the Ohio senator serving as vice president has been widely praised by cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who were already very excited about the prospect of a Trump presidency and a pro-crypto outlook from Washington.

O Bitcoin price went up nearly 11 percent to more than $65,000 this week after Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, while traders increased their bets that he would win in November.

Among Silicon Valley’s tech billionaires, cryptocurrencies have become a bold dividing line in this election, with Trump and now Vance’s bullish stances earning them millions of dollars in donations — some paid in the form of cryptocurrencies — as well as likely votes.

Technology and cryptocurrency investor Balaji Srinivasan warmly supported Vance, explaining on social media platform X that the senator “understands military, media, technology, finance and politics,” while venture capitalist David Sacks also applauded the choice.

A more crypto-friendly White House would contrast sharply with the strict rules and crackdown by the Securities and Exchange Commission led by Biden-appointed President Gary Gensler, which has gone after companies like Coinbase and Ripple in recent years.

Many crypto enthusiasts point to Vance’s personal holdings as a mark of his credentials and interest in the asset.

He had between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of crypto on Coinbase as of 2022, according to his most recent financial disclosures. He also invested as much as $15,000 in the decentralized exchange Ethex, and between $15,001 and $50,000 in the right-wing video platform Rumble, on which Trump’s Truth Social advertises.

When Canada promised to freeze the bank accounts of those protesting Covid-19 restrictions in 2022, Vance wrote on Twitter that “this is why crypto is taking off.” He also criticized Gensler, saying his approach to regulating cryptocurrencies “is the exact opposite of what it should be.”

“On an ideological and philosophical basis, it seems like he sees the value of bitcoin,” Blume said, adding that Vance’s outlook “has been extremely positive, pro-crypto.”

While his plans are still unclear, the Ohio senator may have more policy ideas and a better understanding of the industry than Trump, having worked in Silicon Valley and sitting on the powerful Senate banking committee.

Vance is already getting stuck, circulating a draft proposal that would overhaul how Washington’s two top regulators oversee cryptocurrencies, according to Politico.

Of course, this is also the man who once called Trump “America’s Hitler”among other things, although those views appear to have changed significantly. If the polls are correct, we may soon find out a lot more about their true views on crypto.

What do you think of Vance’s stance on crypto? Email me at nikou.asgari@ft.com

Weekly Highlights

Excerpt of the week

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin argues against choosing who to vote for based solely on their views on cryptocurrencies, in a message seemingly aimed at the many cryptocurrency founders and executives who are donating heavily to Trump’s campaign.

On a blog post On his website, he said that freedom of money in the form of crypto payments was not the only freedom that should decide people’s votes — privacy of thoughts and communications was also important.

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

Cryptofinance is edited by Laurence Fletcher. Your comments are welcome.

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