Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks and a billionaire tech investor, has been a supporter of current U.S. President Joe Biden. However, he recently changed his stance, warning that if Biden continues to oppose Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is likely to win the 2024 presidential election.
Cuban mentioned that under Biden’s leadership, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has failed to protect investors and has made it "nearly impossible for legitimate crypto companies to operate."
He further warned that Congress needs to pass cryptocurrency registration legislation and stated that lawmakers "can solve this problem for Biden" because Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are "a cornerstone for young and independent voters."
He tweeted, "If Biden loses, you can likely thank Gensler and the SEC. This election will heed the voices of crypto voters."
According to Forbes, the crypto industry, including exchanges like Coinbase, trading apps like Robinhood, and Jack Dorsey’s Block, have all complained that Gensler’s so-called "enforcement regulation" approach has prevented them from registering with regulatory agencies.
This week, Robinhood warned that it had received notice from the SEC of impending litigation against its crypto trading business.
Cuban tweeted, "All Gensler has done is make it nearly impossible for legitimate crypto companies to operate, killing who knows how many businesses and destroying who knows how many entrepreneurs."
Meanwhile, although Congress has introduced a series of bills to define the operating rules for cryptocurrency companies, it has repeatedly failed to pass meaningful cryptocurrency legislation.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will play a bigger role in this year’s U.S. presidential election than ever before. Last week, Trump announced that he would start accepting crypto campaign donations.
Trump’s sudden 180-degree turn on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies culminated at an event at Mar-a-Lago that week, where he told attendees, "If you support crypto, you better vote for Trump," and "The Democrats are very against it."
Notably, this comes after Trump declared in 2019 that he didn’t like Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.
Trump’s remarks were described by American media outlet Politico as "a new weapon against Biden," after the former president used cryptocurrencies to sell various NFT digital trading cards to his supporters over the past two years.
According to a Public Citizen report, during the upcoming U.S. congressional election, the crypto industry has raised over $100 million to support pro-crypto candidates.
"A new batch of crypto companies, executives, and their allies have re-engaged in the political battle, spending millions to swing elections towards pro-crypto candidates and against efforts to hold the industry accountable and ensure it complies with the law," said Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen.
According to a Harris Poll commissioned by the Digital Currency Group (DCG), about 21% of voters in key swing states in the U.S. consider crypto policies an important topic that could influence their support.
According to a report by Coinbase at the end of 2023, millennials born between 1981 and 1996 "are most likely to view cryptocurrency as an important tool for accumulating wealth."
Another pro-crypto presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after exiting the Democratic primary, is running as an independent candidate. He was the first to accept cryptocurrency donations and promised that if he wins the White House this year, he will put the entire "U.S. budget on the blockchain."
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