On July 4, 2020, popular rapper Kanye West announced that he plans to run for president in 2020, possibly to make good on a promise he made five years during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
The pronouncement was swiftly endorsed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted that he fully supports Kanye’s ambitions.
Kanye West’s announcement comes as a boost to the crypto community, as the rapper has previously expressed interest in Bitcoin.
During an interview in 2018 with radio personality Charlamagne, West mentioned that he wanted to use BTC, pointing out that everyone needs to look forward to the future to inspire progress.
Right after the interview, he tweeted “decentralize,” sparking a huge debate on Twitter, with many crypto enthusiasts jumping in to endorse his sentiments.
Now, West’s aspirations to become US president have made one twitter user very excited, presumably due to the well-known positive comments the rapper has made in the past concerning BTC.
Bitcoin evangelist Aaron Arnold tweeted:
“Kanye West becomes THE FIRST United States presidential nominee to understand that #Bitcoin is Money.”
The Current US President is Anti-bitcoin
In sharp contrast to Kanye, who views Bitcoin as money, US President Donald Trump has criticized Bitcoin and crypto assets on numerous occasions, stating that their value is highly volatile and is not considered as money.
Earlier in July 2019, the current US president expressed opposition to cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Libra, in a series of tweets.
Another top official in the US government who hates crypto is Brad Sherman, the congressman from California.
He has long been a vocal opponent of the growing crypto asset market in the US, making the Democrat earn himself the title of ‘Crypto-villain’ amidst the crypto community.
In 2019, Sherman appeared on Bloomberg TV, where he turned his attention to crypto, claiming that this new asset class serves no purpose other than to facilitate “nefarious transactions.”
Not All Top US Officials Hate BTC
Sherman’s adverse sentiments on crypto are seemingly opposed to those of leading Democratic presidential candidates for 2020, Joe Biden, who appears to be rather progressive about emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies.
Similarly, the new Acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Brian Brooks, appears to share Kanye’s positive sentiments about Bitcoin and crypto in general.
The pro-crypto regulator, who was the COO at Coinbase exchange before his current position, hinted that he plans to transform the existing regulation on digital activities, which could boost the wider acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the banking sector.
More recently, Hester Maria Peirce, a crypto-friendly Commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was nominated by President Trump for a 2nd term in office.
Hester has been dubbed “Crypto Mom” by the crypto community due to her liberal standpoint on BTC and other cryptocurrencies.
