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As the election approaches, the showdown between Trump and Harris is undoubtedly more intense.In the field of encryption, the confrontation between the two is becoming increasingly fierce. Harris has also spoken out a rare moment ago that he will support digital assets. Trump is undoubtedly more radical. Not only has he released a new NFT series, but he has recently been the World, a Defi project for the Trump family.Liberty Financial stands on the platform and hypes its own crypto stance.
For crypto voters, the swaying politician beliefs still seem hard to believe, but even if they hesitate, they will inevitably choose one of the two to vote for their own vision.New Yorker reporter Charles Bethea is quite interested in this group. He learned more about crypto voters by attending a crypto party in Atlanta. Who would they choose?And who are they?The article uses what Charles saw and heard on the spot, reflecting the values and beliefs of typical American crypto enthusiasts.
The following is the original text compiled, and some have been deleted due to space reasons:
Recently, I attended a cryptocurrency gathering near Atlanta with the theme of “Bitcoin Enters the Mainstream Political Stage”.The party was organized by real estate agent Ritchie Clark in his early forties.Clark runs a community of thousands of members, Bitcoin Atlanta.It’s also Clark’s attempt to make cryptocurrency intersect with politics, he said, “this has always been a sensitive topic”, and he mentioned that most cryptocurrency enthusiasts have historically been “indifferent to politics.”Bitcoin, in particular, has long been linked to financial sovereignty, and supporters tend to criticize excessive government intervention such as regulation, scrutiny and central banks.
Clark’s interest in cryptocurrencies began in 2012, when he twice supported Ron Paul as president.“I came to the conclusion that operating within the existing system would not bring us any benefits,” Clark said.“We have to build a new system or a parallel system,” he continued. “At the same time, Bitcoin is getting hot. So I think, that’s one thing I can do to help lay new tracks.”
In late 2020, Clark, who worked as an audio engineer, opened a cryptocurrency consulting company, but it did not start afterwards.In the early days, he had mined some bitcoins.“I’ve been in the cryptocurrency space for a long time and people think I’m a multimillionaire,” he told me.“In fact, I bet most of my money. But leaving the financial layer makes me see more clearly. “Since I entered the cryptocurrency space, Clark has been voting in the presidential election, “That’s just barely voted”—— Until this election.He was an alternate Trump representative at the Republican National Convention in July, partly due to Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies.
“Cryptocurrencies are the problem, but they also involve other issues,” Clark believes that making Bitcoin, not the US dollar, a world reserve currency, can promote peace.“Since World War I, all the money for the U.S. war has been mainly from inflation,” he argued.”Bitcoin has no central issuer and no fixed supply, so this inflation mechanism is basically impossible to achieve.” Clark is not expecting Trump to do this, but he can give this technology moreBreathing space.”
I asked Clark if he knew Trump’s recent support for cryptocurrencies would win him votes.He tells the story of a friend in his thirties who has never voted before, but decided to vote this year after Trump said he would pardon Ross Ublich.Ublich is the founder of the Silk Road, an online black market that, before it was shut down, facilitated countless illegal transactions through Bitcoin, making Bitcoin one of its first major use cases.In 2015, he was sentenced to two counts of life imprisonment without parole for crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking.“He is a folk hero in our community,” Clark continued.I asked him if he believed Trump would deliver on his promise.“If you want to weigh a trade-off between voting for someone who explicitly likes cryptocurrency and who will pardon Ross and keep silent about the issue, I think you have to choose the former – whether he is lying or not.”
The meeting begins on the terrace of the co-working space in Chambli, Georgia.In mid-August, Clark’s plan was to organize the debate of the three most well-known presidential candidates, but they could not find anyone representing Vice President Kamala Harris, and Robert F. Kennedy then paused hisCampaign.Clark believes that most of the attendees on the day were right-wingers and men.“When a woman comes to a cryptocurrency party,” he said, “you’re surprised, ‘Hey! What’s wrong!’”
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts realize the stereotypes they have.”We are used to being portrayed as crazy fringe monsters,” Clark told me. In July, peer-reviewed journal PLOS One published a paper titled “The Political, Psychological and Social Relevance of Cryptocurrency Ownership,” which wasSome of these views provide academic recognition.This paper, co-authored by Uschinsky, is widely circulated in the cryptocurrency world based on a 2022 survey of two thousand Americans.
Clark selected from the summary:Individuals with cryptocurrencies “express multiple political loyalty and identities. We also find that cryptocurrency ownership is associated with belief in conspiracy theories, ‘dark’ personality traits, and more frequent use of alternative and marginal social media platforms.“Many in the community think social networks like X are legitimate news sources. The report says that cryptocurrency holders spend a lot of time online, one of the few findings Clark agreed to. “This is obviously withBiased,” he concluded eventually. “But you can judge for yourself whether you think cryptocurrency holders have these psychological tendencies.”
Free BBQ was available at the party and when I arrived, about 30 people had already been there to enjoy it.Consistent with expectations, most of them are male, with beards and many are very friendly.The first person I talked about was Joey, a drama director in his 60s, wearing a T-shirt with the words “SINGLE”, “TAKEN” and “HODLING”.As we sat down to eat brisket, the song Counting Crows was played in the background, and Joey told me he learned about cryptocurrencies from his son over a decade ago, when his son was mining in their basement.Joey is attracted by the “philosophical philosophy behind Bitcoin” – as the country continues to print money, Bitcoin has the potential to give us a space to store money without depreciating.”I asked Trump. “He at least agreed with Kennedy’s idea,” Joey said, noting that he was more supportive of Kennedy. “Trump used to not like Bitcoin, but now he likes it.Biden doesn’t like it.Maybe he will change?Harris has not spoken yet.”Joey hesitated after Kennedy stepped down from the campaign.
Camille, 35, is a Polish-born electromechanical engineer who became a U.S. citizen in the late 1990s and has been trading cryptocurrency since 2011.He used to own hundreds of bitcoins, but he said: “I was a poor college student at the time and had free internet funds to get, and I’m sure I’m involved.” Cryptocurrency is gentle with Camill’s belief in “economic freedom.”He has voted for the Republican Party since he was first elected in 2016, largely because of crypto policies.”The opposition is strongly opposed to cryptocurrency in every way. They want to monitor it, limit it or even tax it. That certainly doesn’t work.” Trump’s support excited him, but he doubts many cryptocurrencies that have not voted for the Republican Party.Enthusiasts change the party.“I hope Trump’s embrace will touch people, but I haven’t seen people change their votes, even those who have benefited greatly from it.”
Andrew, a 58-year-old software developer, stood next to a megaphone with a big beard.He told me: “People who have studied the principle of free money are basically voters who only focus on one issue.” He refers to the idea that liberal economists mainly advocate that the financial system should limit government intervention and use limited supplycurrency-based.”The currency problem must be addressed first. Everything else is on the edge. Whoever claims the best position on this issue is their vote.” He continued, “I don’t usually vote for the Democrats. But if they propose other ones, they are the ones they vote.”Political views—such as owning your own wallet, buying and selling cryptocurrencies—and Trump continues to call it a scam, and I’ll be in trouble. But things don’t go that way.”
The Wallflowers started playing as I sat next to another man with a beard and glasses.The man, who was previously in IT, initially didn’t want to reveal his name, but offered his X nickname.(Of all major social media platforms, X seems to be a favorite of the crypto community, which may be partly attributed to Elon Musk’s enthusiastic support for a cryptocurrency called Dogecoin.) “There are ten in NashvilleU.S. Senator,” he refers to the Bitcoin Conference.”Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy, it’s amazing.” He called himself a “centric” and “don’t trust any political party,” but he had made up his mind.”I had joined Trump before going to Nashville. But Trump surprised me very much. I think Vivek – Ramaswami, a former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur who supports Trump.Tell him, ‘Look, there’s free vote here.’ Trump just went to pick up the votes. He’s very pragmatic.”
An IT developer named Solomon is talking to theater director Joey.Solomon praised Trump for his “brave challenge to the old system”.Joey praised what he described as Kennedy’s wish to “get the kids to eat good food and prevent all these diseases.”They all condemn corn subsidies for financial and nutritional problems—they think it’s better to avoid market intervention and corn syrup.As soon as I seized the opportunity, I asked Solomon what he thought about Trump’s transformation.“I know some cryptocurrency investors are more supportive of Trump now,” he said.“They are willing to accept the comfort, and the baby boomers are a little bit heading towards ‘economic mess, one-party tyranny’…not just because of cryptocurrencies, but some other reasons.”
“I’ve attended four or five cryptocurrency meetings and 80% of the people I’ve talked to have been supporting Trump,” Joey retorted.”But when Kennedy showed up, he supported Bitcoin and Trump said, ‘Oh, I’m going to lose supporters because of Bitcoin.’ So he changed his mind. He didn’t know what Bitcoin was, nor did he know itHow it works. ” At least, most of the attendees I’ve spoken to agree with that.
Suddenly it started to rain—the first rain in weeks—and the crowd began to move.On the way in, a man in jeans and a Polo shirt pulled me aside.He said he was “the only liberal” since 2012, and he quietly told me,Most of his net worth is in Bitcoin.Therefore, policies that benefit cryptocurrencies are his top priority, but he believes that cryptocurrency will eventually become a widely used currency regardless of the election outcome.”They can’t kill it. So it doesn’t matter.” He said if Trump is elected,It might be good for my net worth in the short term, but what’s the use of being rich if you have to live in a grey empire?” He added, referring to the party, “I almost didn’t want to come.”
Clark calmed the atmosphere in front of the microphone.He told the participants that he was wearing a T-shirt worth five thousand dollars.He said.”I bought it in 2014 with $20 Bitcoin. The value of Bitcoin is now $50,000.” He introduced a big man named Wes, who provided brisket for the party and inHe bought his first bitcoin in 2010, which made him one of the earliest bitcoin owners present.Wes made a brief PPT demonstration comparing the presidential candidate’s position on cryptocurrency.Many nodded as he recounted Trump’s promise to release Silk Road founder Ross Ubricht.He then listed some of Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies, including his pledge to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who is skeptical about cryptocurrencies, and ends “hostile” regulations.
“The next one is Biden,” he said.Clark interrupted him, which seemed to be well-designed.”Well, it’s not Biden now. It’s Harris.” The crowd laughed.”Harris is not a member of the Biden administration, isn’t he?” Wes said.”I want to be fair.” He listed several regulatory bills proposed by the Democrats.People shook their heads.Before closing the speech, Wes concluded: “You may be tired of it, but we are Bitcoin owners.” He continued, “Vote to the bill you think is the most favorable for Bitcoin owners.”
Harris supporters were asked if they were willing to refute, but no one responded.
Before I left, Clark introduced me to Michael Tedwell, a man in his thirties wearing a “Release Rose” T-shirt.“Biden and Harris can release him, but they don’t,” he told me.”At least Trump said he would do that.” I asked him how politically he was.“I just like good things happening,” he added that he supports “real freedom.”He used the word “a little stupid” to describe Kennedy’s behavior, noting that Trump was carrying “strange baggage”.He went on to say, “Usually, I wouldn’t consider voting for someone like this. I’ve never voted for a presidential candidate before,” he concluded, “but if you want Bitcoin to be successful, you have to support it.The person in the worst position. Now, Ross is in the worst position.”
So he would vote for Trump.
