From the United States, to the United Kingdom and Argentina, cryptocurrencies have entered the political debate forcefully. Do they represent an opportunity or a danger for democracy?
The rise of pro-crypto political leaders
Cryptocurrencies are increasingly playing a central role in election campaigns and political agendas in various parts of the world.
Donald Trump has ridden this phenomenon in the US and has not hidden his interest in cryptocurrencies even on a personal level, but the phenomenon is far from isolated. Leaders who are banking on cryptocurrencies as a strategic and political lever are in fact multiplying.
In the United Kingdom, Nigel Farage – head of Reform UK – recently proposed a 10% reduction in tax on cryptocurrency capital gains and the establishment of a national Bitcoin reserve managed by the Bank of England. The most notable news is that his party is the first in the country to accept donations in cryptocurrencies, as long as they are not anonymous.
In the United States, Donald Trump continues to reiterate his support for the sector, and has effectively defused the SEC, which seems to have become the spokesperson for more flexible regulation. However, the launch of Trump's meme coin and other questionable choices are undermining confidence.
In Argentina , the “promotion” of the digital currency $LIBRA by President Javier Milei had generated great enthusiasm among investors, but the subsequent collapse of the token has shown how damaging political influence can be, with heavy repercussions on thousands of investors. The case has raised concerns about the need to establish clear rules in the relationship between political power and decentralized finance.
A powerful financial weapon, but with complex consequences
Cryptocurrencies are an innovative tool, both for party financing and for promoting alternative economic agendas. Their decentralized nature and promise of financial emancipation represent a break from traditional banking models. But they also raise serious ethical and legal questions.
Transparency is one of the central issues. The initiative of Reform UK – which only accepts non-anonymous crypto donations – wants to avoid the risk of external interference, a phenomenon facilitated by the difficulty of tracing the identity of the donors.
While blockchain transactions are traceable, they can be difficult to analyze due to privacy-enhancing tools such as intermediate wallets, cryptocurrency mixers, and DeFi platforms, which hinder investigators.
What are the risks to democracy?
The most obvious danger remains foreign influence in political financing, made possible by partial anonymity and the complexity of tracking. But it is not the only one. The Argentine scandal involving Javier Milei , with heavy economic losses and calls for impeachment , is a concrete demonstration of how dangerous an unregulated interaction between politics and crypto can be.
Yet, the initial question remains: is it possible to regulate the sector without distorting its essence?
How can we reconcile the ideal of free and decentralized finance with the need for security and transparency that democracy imposes?
This dilemma represents a crucial challenge for the politics of the future, called to integrate technological innovation without transforming it into an instrument of manipulation.
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