The Growing Political Potency Of The ‘Crypto Voter Bloc’

   Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 16: In this photo illustration, a visual representation of digital ... [+] cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethernum, Dash, Monero and Litecoin is displayed on February 16, 2018 in Paris, France. Digital cryptocurrencies have seen unprecedented growth in 2017, despite remaining extremely volatile. (Photo Illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images) Getty Images Do you the reader transact with cryptocurrencies? Do you store wealth in them? Particularly if the answer is no, it’s useful to think about such an answer in light of a recent national poll conducted by The Digital Chamber. It’s evident that change is afoot, and the latter is perhaps rooted in growing familiarity with, and usage of cryptocurrencies. According to the poll, 1 in 7 likely voters identify as part of the Crypto Voting Bloc. Those likely voters are both Republicans and Democrats, and it’s notable that “cryptocurrency policy will significantly influence their vote in the 2024 elections.” Stop and think about that, and in particular think about it vis-à-vis the 2020 elections, or even the 2022 mid-term elections when there was so much blood on the proverbial crypto street. It’s no reach to suggest the voting bloc was viewed as electorally irrelevant in 2020, and that in 2022 the aforementioned carnage had shrunk the perceived importance of the crypto voter even more. So much has changed so fast in light of a voting bloc that presently spans 26 million Americans. What’s exciting is that this is how markets work. New ideas and new ways of transacting and saving change in the blink of an eye. Lest readers forget, as the 20th century came to a close the vast majority of transactions stateside still involved the U.S. Postal Service and the checks delivered by it. How quickly things changed in subsequent years. It would appear something similar is afoot in a cryptocurrency sense now. If 1 in 7 voters report that policy associated with private, digital money will heavily influence their voting, then it’s only a matter of time before what’s obscure to 6 in 7 voters morphs into quite the thing. Hard to imagine? MORE FOR YOU Google’s Update Mistake Confirmed As Millions Of Pixel Owners Install Android 15 Cybercrime Agency Issues New 2FA Warning For Gmail, Outlook, Facebook And X Users Samsung Slashes Galaxy S24 Ultra Price In Major New Sale No doubt it is, but then so was a major shift to the internet. If this is doubted, readers need only remember when critics of Amazon.com would refer to it as Amazon.org. Get it? Taking this further, readers need only remember the endless bankruptcies that revealed themselves in the internet space early in the 21st century. Supposedly it signaled the end for what all too many deemed a fad, but in 2024 the internet is a powerful fact of life. Consider that in light of what crypto was in 2020, 2022, and in 2024 as tens of millions of voters from both sides of the aisle view it as something that will substantially influence their vote. The speculation here is that it signals crypto at the edge of something much bigger. Evidence supporting this claim can be found in the presidential candidates themselves. Clumsily no doubt, they’ve tried to present themselves as the individuals primed to write the policies necessary to make crypto ubiquitous. Their efforts are superfluous, and they are because commercial advances are thankfully way too fast for politicians. Which is a feature of where the economy is, and where it’s going, not a bug. Those best situated to make crypto common and an essential part of life are likely much younger than the politicians out hustling for votes. Just as the young made the internet life, so will they similarly make crypto a powerful aspect of life. In short, the polling data released by The Digital Chamber has meaning well beyond the data. It signals great leaps to something better, and that will profoundly change how we transact and save. Follow me on Twitter. Editorial Standards Forbes Accolades