I know Vitalik is (rightly) controversial, and yes, he's talking "crypto" as a whole since he's certainly not a btc guy anymore. It's still an interesting piece and a reminder that supporting "crypto" or even supporting btc is not the same as actually supporting freedom:
If a politician is in favor of your freedom to trade coins, but they have said nothing about the topics above, then the underlying thought process that causes them to support the freedom to trade coins is very different from mine (and possibly yours). This in turn implies a high risk that they will likely have different conclusions from you on issues that you will care about in the future.
(Liked that quote, but suggest reading the whole thing, of course.)
ETA This essentially works as a companion piece to the link @siggy47 posted here: #612530
He is getting a lot of flak from the “crypto” folk over this post.
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69 sats \ 1 reply \ @freetx 18 Jul
by publicly giving the impression that you support "pro-crypto" candidates just because they are "pro-crypto", you are helping to create an incentive gradient where politicians come to understand that all they need to get your support is to support "crypto". It doesn't matter if they also support banning encrypted messaging,
I sort of disagree with his conclusion.
The Overton Window was moved to the extreme left in recent years via an obsessive narrow focus on DEI issues. Proponents were able to link nearly any aspect of a proposed or existing policy to some imagined DEI slight.
That is to say, extremely narrowly focused issues can be leveraged to achieve wider political goals...there is no reason why this can't be true with "crypto" (whatever that word really means).
There is no reason why a politician who verbally supports Bitcoin - while simultaneously supporting banning encrypted communication - will be immune from the political wrath of a focused Bitcoin community.
That politicians Bitcoin support is the leverage point that we have to control his other beliefs....
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The umbrella of "Crypto" is massive when it comes to political and economic thought. He can't really speak to them as a whole. Even the umbrella of bitcoiners is massive.
I've said it many times. I wrote about it on SN. Bitcoiners don't need politicians. Politicians need bitcoiners.
There is no need to whore ourselves to these evil leeches. They will come begging for our support as we gain more sovereignty, wealth, and influence. Then it just comes down to personal beliefs. I have no desire to vote for these clowns. I will not grant my consent. Others don't have that position. I don't care. That's up to them.
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TLDR;
Don't trust politicians. And yet... proof of stake.
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The base premise is correct. Don't make your political decision base only on this.
Bitcoin, will be appreciated sooner or later, it is just a matter of time. Meanwhile there are other important factors that affect everyone that a person should take into consideration.
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