U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has unveiled his “Three Freedoms of Crypto” policy framework. He stated that as President, he will ensure that innovative sectors, including crypto, are “liberated from the shackles of the unconstitutional shadow government.” He expects to rescind most, if not all, of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations that apply to cryptocurrencies.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s Crypto Policy
U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled his cryptocurrency policy on Thursday. He wrote on social media platform X:
Rolling out my ‘Three Freedoms of Crypto’ policy framework at the North American Blockchain Summit this morning in Texas.
“Since the inception of crypto, the shadow government in the administrative state in Washington, D.C., and its cronies on Wall Street have tried to quash its rise. They have implemented policies through the *backdoor* using administrative rule-making and arbitrary enforcement that Congress never passed,” the presidential hopeful described.
“As President, I will ensure that innovative sectors, from crypto to energy to drug discovery, are liberated from the shackles of the unconstitutional shadow government,” he added.
Ramaswamy clarified that the three basic principles he rolled out form the backbone of what will be the forthcoming cryptocurrency policy framework under his administration. He also believes that these principles can influence the approach taken by Congress or future U.S. presidents when addressing the crypto sector. Outlining the three principles, he stated:
They are the freedom to code, the freedom to financial self-reliance, and the freedom to innovate free from regulatory overreach.
The presidential hopeful then explained each principle in more detail. “I believe that code is a form of speech and it’s protected by the First Amendment,” he said. Referencing the Tornado Cash case, he stressed that you can’t go after the developers, you need to go after individual bad actors breaking the laws that already exist on the books.
As for the freedom to financial self-reliance, he views the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and a number of money laundering statutes that are working their way through Congress as “fundamentally unconstitutional.” Specifically, he promised: “Any regulation that touches self-hosted wallets will end on my watch.”
Regarding the freedom to innovate free from regulatory overreach, Ramaswamy referenced a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the West Virginia v. EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] case which held that the regulatory agency lacks the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Ramaswamy promised:
On day one as your next president, I will rescind any unconstitutional regulations that fail the Supreme Court test in West Virginia v. EPA. To be clear, that will include most, if not all, of the SEC regulation as it applies to crypto.
He added that on day one of his presidency, he’ll make sure that all regulatory agencies stand down from “enforcing any regulations that fail that test,” noting that in year one, he expects a “75% reduction in the number of federal bureaucrats.”
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