Politicians Preparing for The Crypto Future

Governments all over the world are adopting cryptocurrency into their economies and day-to-day life. With the correct usage by federal governments, crypto could lead to massive leaps in infrastructure, the creation of millions of jobs, and could aid developing countries in building their economies. In the last year, the world has started slowly seeing the adoption of several different coins by countries all around the globe.

The Bitcoin Law in El Salvador, which became effective on September 7th of this year, made the coin legal tender within the country. The adoption of bitcoin within the country has not gone completely smoothly, with some users falling victim to scammers and glitches with Chivo, the bitcoin wallet that citizens of the country are encouraged to use. However, the recent rise in bitcoin price has allowed the country to build 20 schools with profits, and this is very impressive considering that the law came into effect less than two months ago. There are struggles that come with the use of any currency, El Salvador’s government is working with Chivo in order to fix the current issues, and hopes to have them resolved in a timely manner. 

Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican, proposed recently that merchants who sell to US Congress in Capitol Hill to start taking cryptocurrency payments. This would require food vendors, vending machine companies, and gift shops in Capitol Hill to accept crypto payments. The Texas senator also staunchly opposed the taxes on crypto proposed by the Biden administration for the infrastructure bill. This is an effort on the Sen. Cruz’s part to continue the wider acceptance of crypto within the United States, and most importantly in his home state. The largest Bitcoin mine in North America is in Rockdale, Texas, and more miners are moving to the state everyday. Sen. Cruz believes that the influx of mining could help solve the recent problems the state has had with their power grid. At the Texas Blockchain Summit, Sen. Cruz said, “I would like to see Texas become the center of the universe for bitcoin and crypto.” 

Texas isn’t the only state where politicians are entering the cryptocurrency conversation. Miami mayor, Francis Suarez, recently stated on twitter that he will take his next paycheck entirely in bitcoin, being the first American politician in history to do so. The mayor has not been shy about speaking on cryptocurrency in the past, stating that he has holdings in both bitcoin and Ethereum. Miami is a city of international commerce, it is home to many wealthy individuals and corporations that are always looking to take the next big step in innovation, so there is no lack of funding for crypto projects within the city, one of the biggest challenges at the moment is finding a way to get the state legislature on the side of crypto. The Florida Blockchain Business Association is a group dedicated to lobbying towards more pro-crypto legislation in the state of Florida, which would allow Miami to continue its journey towards adopting cryptocurrency into more aspects of the city. 

If you look anywhere in the world, whether it be a world power or developing country, you can see interest in the cryptocurrency industry growing. Investors who used to call bitcoin “a bubble” are now putting millions into it, and politicians are moving towards eliminating the old financial system and moving onto one that is able to keep up with the fast paced world we live in today. It is only a matter of time until another country adopts bitcoin, or another coin, as its national currency, and the rate of adoption will continue to rise in small cities that see its utility as well.