Politicians Supporting Bitcoin Around The World

In recent years, bitcoin has grown in popularity and adoption around the world, drawing the attention of not only investors and entrepreneurs but also politicians and policymakers. In this article, we’ll explore some politicians around the world who have expressed support for bitcoin, and the reasons behind their beliefs. From the United States to UK, from El Salvador to Colombia, there are politicians across the globe who believe that bitcoin could play a positive role in the future of finance.

Belgium

Christophe De Beukelaer is a member of the LE party and serves as a deputy in the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region. He is also a municipal councilor in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. In 2022, he announced that he will convert his salary to bitcoin to demonstrate his confidence in a financial world in the making and a more transparent financial world.

https://twitter.com/cdebeukelaer/status/1486702433233477642

Brazil

João Amoêdo is a former presidential candidate and the founder of the Brazilian political party Novo. He has advocated for bitcoin legalization. He believes it is too early to set rigid rules that limit a market that is still developing. Furthermore, he does not believe bitcoin poses a threat to the traditional banking system and sees benefits in providing consumers with another method of payment.
– Fabio Ostermann is a former Rio Grande do Sul State Deputy and a founding member of the Novo party. Ostermann has been a vocal proponent of bitcoin. He sees bitcoin as a means of rendering state tools obsolete and allowing technology to liberate people.

https://twitter.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1402016018030022661

• Paulo Eduardo Martins is a former federal deputy for the state of Paraná and a member of the Social Liberal Party. Martins has expressed support for bitcoin use while criticizing the government’s efforts to regulate it.

Central African Republic

• President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic believes that bitcoin is the answer to the country’s financial exclusion. In April 2022, the country became the first African country to make bitcoin legal tender.

Colombia

• Gustavo Petro, the former Mayor of Bogotá and the president of Colombia, took to social media in December 2017 saying that bitcoin could remove power from government and traditional banks and give it back to the people. He also believes that the technology behind Bitcoin could help to promote greater transparency and accountability in government and reduce corruption.
• Colombia’s former President, Iván Duque, believes blockchain technology has the potential to transform the financial industry and has called for increased investment in the technology. When he took office, he promised to cut taxes for bitcoin and blockchain startups.

El Salvador

• The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has been a vocal advocate for bitcoin. In June 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize bitcoin as legal tender. The decision was supported by a majority of lawmakers in the country’s Legislative Assembly. Since then, the government has taken steps to adopt and promote the use of Bitcoin, including launching a government-run Bitcoin wallet and investing in Bitcoin mining operations.

Finland

• Anne-Catherine Berner is a Finnish politician who served as the Minister of Transport and Communications in Finland from 2015 to 2019. During her time in office, she expressed support for bitcoin arguing that it has the potential to change the way we think about money and transactions.

Germany

• Frank Schäffler is a German politician and member of parliament who has been a strong advocate for bitcoin and has suggested that the German government should consider investing in the digital currency. He was a member of the Supervisory Board of Bitcoin Group SE.

Greece

• Eva Kaili is a Greek politician who previously served as a member of the European Parliament. She has been a vocal supporter of bitcoin in the European Parliament. In March 2022, Kaili called for more lenient anti-money laundering regulations for transfers of crypto assets from self-custody wallets.

India

• Subramanian Swamy is India’s former Minister of Commerce, Law, and Justice. Swamy has been a proponent of bitcoin, arguing that it can help reduce corruption and promote transparency in India’s economy. He declared it “unstoppable” and the “subject of the future” in 2021.
• Rajeev Chandrasekhar is an entrepreneur and India’s Minister of State for Information Technology. Chandrasekhar has been an outspoken supporter of bitcoin, arguing that it can help to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in India.

Kenya

• Michael Onyango is a former Kisumu County government’s ICT Minister. Onyango has acknowledged bitcoin’s potential to promote financial inclusion and reduce the cost of financial transactions.

Madeira

• Miguel Albuquerque is the current President of the Madeira Regional Government. “I believe in the future, and I believe in Bitcoin,” he said at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami. He has led the region’s acceptance of bitcoin. Madeira currently has no tax on bitcoin capital gains.

Malta

• Former Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has stated his support for bitcoin. During his presidency, Muscat advocated for Malta to be designated as a “Blockchain Island,” promoting the creation of a regulatory framework that would make it easier for blockchain and bitcoin startups and businesses to operate in the country. Muscat also made a personal investment in Bitcoin in 2017. In 2018, he told the UN General Assembly that crypto is “the inevitable future of money.”

Marshall Islands

• Former President of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, was an early supporter of the country’s plan to develop a national digital currency based on blockchain technology to be used alongside the US dollar.

Puerto Rico

• Jesús Manuel Ortiz is a member of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and serves as the chair of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico’s Government Commission. He has publicly expressed his support for bitcoin.

I am convinced that, as a country, it is time to take an affirmative step to insert ourselves into an industry that will undoubtedly open up an enormous range of possibilities for us. The only thing missing is the interest and the will to do it. I will start working in that direction. Let’s move into the future. — Jesús Manuel Ortiz

South Africa

• Karen Jooste is the founder and director of RightfulShare, a campaign for Universal Basic Income (UBI). She has previously served in the South African Parliament. She believes that bitcoin has a great role to play in financial inclusion. Her nonprofit is piloting a crypto UBI in rural South Africa to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship.

Switzerland

• Johann Schneider-Ammann, who served as the President of Switzerland in 2016 and as the Minister of Economic Affairs, Education and Research from 2010 to 2018, has been a strong advocate for bitcoin and blockchain technology. He coined the term “crypto nation Switzerland” in 2018.

UK

• Nigel Farage is a British politician and former leader of the UK Independence Party. Farage has said that he believes in the transformative power of bitcoin and blockchain technology.

USA

• Cynthia Lummis is a US Senator from Wyoming who has been a vocal supporter of bitcoin. As a bitcoiner, believes it has the potential to be a store of value.
• Andrew Yang is a former US Presidential candidate and New York City Mayoral candidate. Yang has been a vocal supporter of bitcoin.
• Francis Suarez is a Miami Mayor, who has been promoting the city as a bitcoin and blockchain technology hub. He has stated that he wishes to make Miami the world’s most bitcoin-friendly city. In 2021, he became the first US politician to take his salary in bitcoin.
• Eric Swalwell is a California congressman who serves on the House Financial Services Committee. Swalwell has admitted to owning bitcoin and has been an outspoken supporter of the cryptocurrency.
• Ted Cruz is a former presidential candidate and US Senator from Texas. Cruz has stated that he believes bitcoin and blockchain technology have the potential to transform the financial industry.
• Ron Paul is a former Texas congressman and presidential candidate. Paul has long advocated for the use of bitcoin to protect individual privacy and promote financial freedom.
• California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has been a supporter of blockchain technology, stating that he sees applications for it in government and the public sector.
• Mick Mulvaney is a former US Congressman from South Carolina who served as Trump’s White House Chief of Staff. Mulvaney has stated that he owns bitcoin.
• Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. is a politician who served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2023. He owns shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
• In 2022, Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, directed state agencies to figure out how to allow businesses to make tax payments in bitcoin.
• During his mayoral campaign in 2021, Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York, declared that he would receive his first three paychecks in bitcoin once he took office. His intention was to demonstrate that the state was going to be at the forefront of rapidly expanding and innovative industries.

https://twitter.com/ericadamsfornyc/status/1456311827550384129

Zimbabwe

• Nkosana Moyo, former Minister of Industry and International Trade for Zimbabwe, has been an advocate for bitcoin, arguing that the cryptocurrency could help to promote financial inclusion and reduce the cost of cross-border transactions in Africa.

It’s important to note that, while many politicians, entrepreneurs, and experts support bitcoin. The debate over the bitcoin’s role in the global financial system is likely to rage on for many years.