- Vice President J.D. Vance praised Bitcoin and crypto as a hedge against the government, companies, and inflation
- He also downplayed the perceived risk of stablecoins to the U.S dollar, terming them a ‘force multiplier’
U.S Vice President J.D Vance is in the news today after he backed Bitcoin [BTC] and crypto as a “genuine ground-up” innovation that’s improving the lives of holders and users.
During his keynote address at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, he added,
“50 million Americans own Bitcoin, and I believe that’s going to be 100 million before too long.”
He also hailed the impact of DeFi (decentralized finance), which is enhancing financial inclusion among unbanked citizens. Most importantly though, he highlighted crypto as a hedge against several issues, including governments.
Crypto as a hedge
The V.P acknowledged crypto’s conservative elements, elaborating on its hedging application against bad governance, inflation, political witch-hunts, and consumer discrimination. He went on to add,
“Crypto is a hedge against bad policymaking from Washington, no matter what party is in control. It’s a hedge against skyrocketing inflation, which has eroded the real savings rate of Americans.”
For perspective, BTC’s annual inflation rate dropped to 0.84% after last April’s halving. This decreased block rewards (issuance rate) from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The BTC issuance rate will drop to 0.41% after 2029’s halving and fall to 0.05% by 2040.
Source: BitBo
On the contrary, the U.S inflation rate has remained around 3.4%, and worrying spending and fiscal debt ($36 trillion) may dilute USD-based savings and purchasing power.
Here, it’s worth pointing out that the Vice President declared the Biden-era crypto-debanking (Operation ChokePoint 2.0) “dead.”
He also noted that the administration intends to forge regulatory clarity, especially on stablecoins.
“We do not think stablecoins threaten the integrity of the U.S dollar. Quite the opposite. In fact, we view them as a force multiplier of our economic might.”
Vance claimed that after enacting the stablecoin bill, the GENIUS Act, into law, they will focus on the crypto market structure bill.
His bullish position on Bitcoin isn’t surprising though. Especially since he is a well-known holder. In fact, Vance owned BTC worth about $250k-$500k, according to disclosure documents shared by CBS in 2024.
