Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has expressed concerns regarding the crypto community’s political strategies. He believes that supporting political candidates solely based on their pro-crypto stance is not enough. Instead, Buterin advocates for a more comprehensive evaluation that includes alignment with fundamental values such as decentralization, privacy, and technological freedom.
Buterin Urges Crypto Community to Broaden Political Criteria
In a detailed blog post, Buterin examines the growing trend of supporting political candidates solely based on their pro-crypto stance. “I argue against this trend, and in particular, 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 stated.
Buterin highlights the crypto movement’s origins in the cypherpunk ethos, which focuses on technological freedom, privacy, and the battle against restrictive copyright laws. He emphasizes that early advocates promoted decentralization to safeguard individual liberties beyond financial transactions. According to Buterin, the community should align itself with political figures supporting these values in all areas, not just cryptocurrency.
Furthermore, Buterin warns that supporting politicians solely based on their pro-crypto stance can be dangerous. He points out that such candidates may not necessarily share the crypto community’s broader ideological commitments, leading to potential conflicts. “If you see a politician being crypto-friendly, one thing you can do is look up their views on crypto itself five years ago. Similarly, look up their views on related topics, such as encrypted messaging five years ago. Particularly, try to find a topic where ‘supporting freedom’ is unaligned with ‘supporting corporations’; the copyright wars of the 2000s are a good example of this. This can be a good guide on what kinds of changes to their views might happen five years in the future,” he explained.
Buterin uses Russia’s example to illustrate how pro-crypto policies can be selectively applied to benefit the government while restricting individual freedoms. Thus, he urges the community to remain vigilant and avoid aligning with politicians who might use crypto support to further authoritarian agendas.
Crypto and Politics: Leaders Discuss Idealism vs Pragmatism
Buterin’s post has sparked a lively debate within the crypto community. Ki Young Ju, CEO of the on-chain analytic platform CryptoQuant, questioned the practicality of Buterin’s approach. Ju argues that the political reality often necessitates supporting pro-crypto candidates. “1. Politicians are unlikely to grasp the cypherpunk spirit. 2. The future of crypto will be shaped by supply and demand within capitalism under uninformed politicians and voters. Given this, isn’t it wiser to vote for crypto-friendly politicians? What other options are there?” Ju wrote.
Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant Fund, echoed some of Buterin’s concerns. However, he emphasized the importance of electing pro-crypto candidates to ensure favorable policy outcomes. He suggested that while idealism is important, political pragmatism is necessary to achieve tangible results.
Meanwhile, Nic Carter, general partner at Castle Island Ventures, expressed his comfort with aligning crypto with libertarian and conservative values. He believes these are consistent with the principles of decentralization and individual freedom. “It’s not a coincidence that the Republicans have embraced it. Their disclosed crypto platform is entirely consistent with those values. I am totally comfortable aligning bitcoin, crypto, core American values, and the contemporary Republican Party, I see no contradiction or dissonance whatsoever,” Carter opined.
Buterin’s opinion is particularly noteworthy, given that most of the industry leaders have voiced their support for pro-crypto candidates. For instance, earlier in May, Charles Hoskinson, another Ethereum co-founder and founder of Cardano, publicly urged the community to vote for crypto in the upcoming November election.
The influence of crypto in the upcoming US presidential election has become more apparent, as evidenced by the substantial contributions to pro-crypto political efforts. BeInCrypto reported that several key industry figures, including Gemini’s Winklevoss twins, Ripple, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Jump Crypto, have made millions of dollars in donations to Fairshake—a super political action committee (PAC) supporting pro-crypto politicians.
In conclusion, Buterin’s call for a broader political evaluation is a crucial reminder of the crypto community’s foundational values. As the political landscape evolves, the community must remain vigilant and consider candidates’ broader ideological commitments, ensuring that the principles of decentralization, privacy, and technological freedom are upheld.
