\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-2152296135-e1721076001589.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
If Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November, America will have its first crypto Vice President. Trump announced on Monday afternoon that Bitcoin-owning Ohio Senator JD Vance <\/a>will be his running mate \u201cafter lengthy deliberation and thought,\u201d according to a post on his Truth Social network.<\/p>\n The senator, former venture capitalist and author of Hillbilly Elegy<\/em>\u2014a memoir of his white, working class upbringing in Ohio\u2019s rust-belt\u2014has personal stakes in the legitimizing of crypto. Vance owns between $100,000 and $250,000 in Bitcoin on the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase<\/a>, according to a financial disclosure<\/a> by Vance last year. In addition, Vance owns a brokerage account with Robinhood, up to $250,000 in a gold ETF, up to $100,000 in a crude oil ETF and up to $250,000 in a checking account with brokerage Charles Schwab<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to his most recent financial disclosure last year, Trump’s Vice President pick @JDVance1<\/a> is a bitcoiner. pic.twitter.com\/p5h7EWOIE6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jameson Lopp (@lopp) July 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Vance has made no secret of being a crypto-friendly voice on Capitol Hill. Politico<\/em> reported<\/a> last month that Vance was circulating draft legislation that would revamp how the U.S. regulates digital assets. Vance\u2019s plan would overhaul how the SEC and the CFTC police the crypto market, and make the current policy more industry-friendly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, Vance also introduced a bill that would try to protect banks from succumbing to regulatory pressure to cut off services to crypto firms, Politico<\/em> reported<\/a>. To do this, Vance\u2019s bill would prohibit regulators from citing \u201creputational risk\u201d when taking action against lenders. On top of this, in 2021, Vance issued a statement<\/a> opposing the Portman-Warner-Sinema amendment<\/a> that was proposed in the Infrastructure Bill, accusing it of ushering in \u201cmass surveillance\u201d of the crypto industry and a \u201cbackdoor ban\u201d of Bitcoin. Crypto is \u201cone of the few sectors of our economy where conservatives and free thinkers can operate without pressure from the social justice mob,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Crypto has taken on an increasingly significant role in Trump\u2019s campaign over recent months, and the candidate has been explicit in recent months about in his desire to emerge as the \u201ccrypto president<\/a>.\u201d For example, this week the organizers of Bitcoin 2024 announced<\/a> that Trump<\/a> will speak at the annual conference, a tribal gathering for fans of the original cryptocurrency, which will take place this month in Nashville.\u00a0<\/p>\n All of this is a major shift for Trump who in 2021 told Fox<\/a> Business in 2021 that Bitcoin \u201cjust seems like a scam.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s efforts to court crypto stems from increasing evidence that the crypto voter is a real demographic. A Harris Poll survey<\/a> published in May found that one-fifth of voters in swing states \u201cconsider cryptocurrency policies as a topic important enough to sway their support.\u201d <\/p>\n In an election that has consistently been close, a few hundred thousand votes in swing states could make the difference. Moreover, crypto has money for the right candidates. Political action committees Fairshake and Stand With Crypto <\/a>have together raised over $357 million to spend lobbying pro-crypto policy makers, in a desperate bid to oust the current SEC administration that has been unapologetically hostile towards crypto.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Vance\u2019s pro-crypto track record <\/h2>\n
The crypto election<\/h2>\n
Recommended Newsletter:<\/strong><\/p>\n