‘The Cryptocurrency Voting Bloc Isn’t Voters’: Political Scientists Debate Election Impact
Date: 2024-09-05 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS
Political scientists are having a hard time accounting for the “crypto vote” in the upcoming US presidential election. Their opinions range from those who claim that crypto voters will be a deciding factor in the 2024 race to those who think they are insignificant. However, they all seem to agree on one thing: the number of voters who care about cryptocurrency is growing.
A recent paper published by Northeastern University Press attempted to determine what impact the so-called “cryptocurrency bloc” could have on the 2024 US presidential election.
According to the political scientists interviewed for the paper, the polling data shows a clear political preference among those who own cryptocurrency compared to those who do not. However, it remains unclear how many voters consider cryptocurrency to be an important political issue.
Cryptocurrency Politics
A recent academic poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University shows that cryptocurrency owners favor former US President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump by 12 points over his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The question is how much of an impact these voters will have on the election. Can a “crypto bloc” change the outcome of the election, all other factors being equal?
As Cointelegraph recently reported, not only has Trump stepped up his efforts to engage the crypto community, but the Harris campaign has also prompted some industry executives to show support for the Democratic nominee.
The situation is a bit more complicated, according to Northeastern University professor Ravi Sarathy. “Both Republicans and Democrats own cryptocurrency,” Sarathy said. He added that “the number of people who are now aware of Bitcoin and investing in it has increased since these ETFs were approved.”
According to Sarathy, “the Bitcoin constituency has grown,” which could make it a bigger factor than some predict.
Nick Beauchamp, an associate professor of political science at Northeastern University, was less optimistic about the potential for crypto voters to influence the country. “The crypto ‘voting bloc’ is not voters, it’s donors,” he said.
According to Beauchamp, “cryptocurrency is barely on people’s list of important issues, and most are either unaware of it or have a superficial opinion.” In his view, the problem is more a question of donor numbers than voter numbers:
“However, there are a number of cryptocurrency-related donors for whom this issue is very important, and these people are the only reason campaigns are making statements about cryptocurrency, and probably the only reason many Republicans and some Democrats like Chuck Schumer are resisting regulation.”
