Pro-Crypto, Not Pro-Crypto Politics
Crypto, a personal reflection, and a view through the political kaleidoscope. How crypto became mainstream as it took centre stage in global politics amidst financial uncertainty.
The year was 2008. I was 12, glued to the TV with a sinking feeling in my stomach.
My dad, a quiet man, struggled with his local business. He had to sell some of our ancestral land just to keep afloat.
It was a lesson in the harsh reality of the financial system, one that stuck with me.
This is a small town in Kerala, one of the southern states in India. A universe away from the United States of America.
The epicentre of the global financial meltdown.
Inter-connected world existence can be a blessing and also a curse. There was no escaping this in a small coastal town of Kozhikode. Known for fresh fish and biryani.
The crisis was unravelling. The Big Short anyone?
Fast forward a few years.
I was hanging out with my always-on-the-fringe cousin. The one who spent his days tinkering with computers and talking about strange things.
That's when I first heard the term "Bitcoin." He called it digital gold.
If you know anyone or anything about Malayalis. That’s what they call all of us from Kerala. They love gold. Period. So digital gold it was.
Championed by the cousin. Begrudgingly understandable for all of us.
Everyone thought he was weird.
Little did we know. Very little in fact. My cousin was onto something big.
Not only was he right, but a visionary for all of us now.
The weird digital gold he was talking about is now worth ~133 Xbox Series X consoles.
They still think that he is weird. Weird, but very lucky.
Bitcoin vs World Top Companies vs Top Banks 👇🏻
This change of value would have surprised the 12-year-old me.
But not the 28-year-old crypto journalist.
We are at the cusp of an era of a financial system built for the people, not the powerful.
Crypto wasn't born in the halls of power.
Then what was it?
In the aftermath of the financial crisis the trust in banks was shaky.
Satoshi Nakamoto (whoever that is) thought - "There's gotta be a better way."
Bitcoin was born.
A decentralised, peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
P2P, peer-to-peer nature of Bitcoin allows for transactions to be made directly between parties with no middlemen (the bank).
Eliminated the risk of censorship, fraud, and single points of failure inherent in traditional financial systems.
Bitcoin has been around for 16 years.
What changed?
How did we get here?
Price history is a different story altogether. You can read: Bitcoin price history: 2009 to 2024
A lot has happened in between. Ethereum came along in 2015.
That opened the doors for blockchain in all forms and we were looking at not just decentralised money - but decentralised everything.
Blockchain is the new technology to shape the world. Just like the internet was in the 1980s.
There is so much to delve into this, that this reflection might never end. So we leave blockchain and the new tech out of this.
This is about Bitcoin. Crypto. The narrative it marries in the world.
The year was 2020. I am 24, trying to figure out life. What good I can make of my lost soul.
For crypto, this was the breakthrough that nobody anticipated.
Pandemic hits. Money goes digital, so why not crypto?
Bitcoin blasts off from holiday bonus to retirement riches. Single to double digits.
From the lows of $6k to the highs of $60k. Market cap crossed $1 trillion.
All in a year. March 2020 to April 2021.
Crypto collectively crossed the market cap of $2.5 trillion.
And me? I saw my chance to become a crypto journalist.
But hey, I wasn't some Wall Street wolf.
Just a regular Joe, blown away by this whole new world.
I even bought an Apple TV subscription just to watch "Crypto Decoded" (regrettable 6.5/10 documentary later).
The point, anything felt possible, the future seemed endless.
Then came the FTX crash in 2022.
Back to $16,000 we go. Panic stations. Everyone hates crypto now.
To gain the trust back in crypto, the 2023 banking crisis arises.
Silver Gate bank, Silicon Valley bank, Signature Bank, big collapse.
Again the solution: Crypto, Bitcoin, P2P, decentralisation.
The values that us crypto folks stood by.
Are we gonna back it forever, or is it just about the transaction of money?
The year is 2024. I am 28, glued to the screens. All kinds. Mobile phones, laptops and even a good old TV set. World is on steroids. On days, getting around it is a mind-numbing exercise.
If you are me, crypto is the narrative of the world I exist in. I do crypto for a living.
Not climate change, not the global geo-political turmoil, not the debt crises plaguing the world, not the scray high liquidity that the world is breeding and not even world healthcare and mental health.
Each day is different. Most days bring a surprise. Different from the previous ones.
Each day is a ride.
Yet, it’s right, left and centre of the global spotlight. It’s a thing and not just one of them things.
What changed?
The crypto narrative has struck a chord with the big money and the folks in power. It’s what is driving election campaigns and larger public appeasement narrative.
If you really want to experience and live the crypto mania.
Donald Trump. Period.
The US goes to elections this year. It’s the battle for the Presidency.
Trump has made crypto promises, dodged a bullet and survived, and his opposite has just walked out of the stage - Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 US presidential race.
Did you watch the Bitcoin 2024 conference keynote?
If not, please do.
To what extent did Trump go for his love for crypto?
The same guy who went from calling Bitcoin a “scam,” and saying its value is “based on thin air,” to the “Crypto President America needs.”
Trump Cards (yes, the Trump-as-superhero NFTs) are out.
His campaign accepts donations in crypto.
He wants all crypto to be mined in the US.
He wants to release Ross Ulbricht, the dark net (Silk Road) guy.
And his VP pick? Senator J.D. Vance from Ohio.
Who equally loves crypto and also holds a good amount of BTC himself.
Of course the crypto folks are impressed:
Then the promises he made at Bitcoin 2024. It’s a long list.
Trump love. Like no other. What a time to be alive.
Hang on a minute, how have the very people who were against the idea of bitcoin, decentralisation and crypto singing a different tune.
What changed?
How did we get here?
Is Vitalik right after all? Sorry Ryan Selkis.
Remember, he is crypto personified. If there is any such thing. For me, for sure.
"If you see a 'pro-crypto' politician today, it's worth it to explore their underlying values, and see which side they will prioritise if a conflict does arise."
Makes perfect sense.
He pours his heart and mind out on this one.
Do read: Against choosing your political allegiances based on who is "pro-crypto"
He is not alone. Edward Snowden.
He cautioned the voters in his virtual address at the same Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, where Donald Trump was the showstopper.
“Cast your vote but don’t join a cult.”
The conference featured a strong presence of pro-Trump sentiment, with attendees wearing red and displaying memorabilia ahead of the former president's keynote speech.
Former National Security Agency (NSA) employee turned whistleblower, Snowden has spent a life on the edge of trials by the government. He is sceptical about the political change.
“20 years a given election tends to result in what feels like a different uniform on the same cop and that's a problem.”
So, when push comes to shove, which side will they pick?
How many politicians are gonna be all "heck yeah" to this?
Or, for that matter, even know what it all means?
I think NONE.
But what do I know? Not much. Nothing perhaps.
What I know is what I have seen. From 2020 to 2024. One election to another.
Crypto market cap? $2.54 Trillion.
The fund houses with Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the US have a combined assets under managed (AUM) of over $17 trillion (a rough estimate).
If Bitcoin decides to take a nosedive, do you really think they'll just watch their cash evaporate?
No siree.
That's a safety net so big, it could soften any Bitcoin tumble.
Then I see all the sudden love coming is uninvited.
Not to forget, crypto has poured into elections.
What happened last time around. 2020 US Presidential elections.
It was crypto backing the Democrats.
FTX, SBF … and the $40 million.
Where is he now? Prison.
25 years sentence for fraud.
$8 billion shortfall on the balance sheet, 1.2 million customers affected.
He has done enough to make sure nobody’s gonna forget it.
Also activated the “target and shoot crypto” acceleration button on the SEC.
This conversation isn't really about that.
Do we really think that decentralised crypto can just float freely in the centralised world?
Just because the ruling party happens to be pro-crypto now, was in the past, or might be in the future?
And are we clear on what their definition of PRO-CRYPTO is?
Again, I am no one to say that.
Politicians are here to show you the mirror.
What can crypto possibly choose to do, eh?
Buttercup Picks: The Good Reads
America's $175 Trillion Problem - Balaji
Crypto’s next wave of smart money - BlockWorks
The Evolving Efficiency of Bitcoin Markets - CoinDesk
Don’t miss the bull run that could make Bitcoin great again - Cointelegraph
Do Meme Coin Traders Care About Getting Scammed? Psychologists Explain - Decrypt
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Excellent summary!
🤩Amazing..... You did an outstanding job! Your work is truly impressive . Keep up the fantastic work!