Vitalik Buterin cautions against picking politicians solely pro-crypto stance

Key Takeaways

• Vitalik Buterin warns against supporting politicians solely for their pro-crypto stance.
• The article emphasizes considering a politician's entire platform and vision for technology and society.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has cautioned against choosing political candidates solely based on their pro-crypto stance in an article published today. Buterin argues that this approach risks conflicting with the core values that initially drew people to the crypto space.

Notably, the Ethereum co-founder emphasizes that the cypherpunk movement, which birthed crypto, focused on broader techno-libertarian ideals beyond just financial freedom.

“The point of all this is to contextualize the mentality that created blockchains and cryptocurrency in the first place: freedom is important, decentralized networks are good at protecting freedom, and money is an important sphere where such networks can be applied – but it’s one important sphere among several.”

The article highlights other crucial technological freedoms, including communication privacy, digital identity, and access to information. Buterin suggests that voters should consider a politician’s entire platform and vision for technology, politics, and the economy in the 21st century.

Furthermore, the article points out crypto being used as an electoral agenda, warning that “crypto-friendly now does not mean crypto-friendly five years from now.”

“If you see a politician being crypto-friendly, one thing you can do is look up their views on crypto itself five years ago. Similarly, look up their views on related topics such as encrypted messaging five years ago. Particularly, try to find a topic where “supporting freedom” is unaligned with ‘supporting corporations’; the copyright wars of the 2000s are a good example of this.”

Buterin also addresses the potential divergence between decentralization and acceleration goals in the crypto industry, urging supporters to explore politicians’ underlying values to anticipate future policy decisions.

Moreover, he warns about the risks of supporting seemingly pro-crypto authoritarian governments, citing Russia’s dual approach to crypto: embracing it to avoid international restrictions while limiting its domestic use to maintain control.

Buterin concludes by encouraging the crypto community to create incentives for politicians that go beyond merely supporting crypto trading, emphasizing the importance of aligning with broader technological and societal goals.