Donald Trump has fans among the cryptocurrency community, with 48% of cryptocurrency holders planning to vote for the former president compared to 39% planning to vote for US President Joe Biden. These numbers are from a poll of 1,000 registered voters commissioned by leading cryptocurrency venture capital firm Paradigm, which released the results on Thursday.
The nationwide survey was conducted by Virginia-based Public Opinion Strategies between February 28 and March 4, while bitcoin was rising from $58,000 to $68,000 — hitting an all-time high.
Without a pessimistic lens, Paradigm points out that its poll reflects numbers that mirror those of other established polling companies: 45% of all registered voters support Trump compared to 42% who support Biden.
The company noted that “Americans do not trust either party when it comes to cryptocurrencies.” “49% of voters do not trust either party regarding cryptocurrencies, including 40% of Democrats and 30% of Republicans.”
The Republican Party has elevated cryptocurrencies higher on its national platform than Democrats thanks to the controversy over central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), something Trump has vowed to kill if elected in November. Republicans in Congress have attempted to impose a ban on US central bank digital currencies, a prospect that regained steam today with revelations that the Federal Reserve considers central bank digital currencies among its top responsibilities.
Paradigm says its survey also shows that cryptocurrency holders no longer represent a niche or fringe constituency.
“Cryptocurrency holders make up a good percentage of the current voting bloc, and it is time for elected officials to take notice,” the company stressed, pointing to survey results indicating that 19% of voters own or use cryptocurrencies and an additional 16% say they are likely to be like that. To invest in digital assets.
“Cryptocurrency owners are themselves a swing-voting demographic, something that could be crucial if the election is another very weak race,” Paradigm’s analysis said.
The report goes on to point out that cryptocurrencies are an issue that may have already made a difference compared to the recent matchup between Biden and Trump.
“Among crypto holders, 43% remember voting for President Biden in 2020, and only 39% of crypto voters remember voting for former President Trump that year,” Paradigm notes. “So it appears that some of the voters that President Biden is now losing to Trump are crypto holders, perhaps due to actions taken by some agencies in the Biden administration.”
While these actions have not been specified, they could include the long-running campaign against the sale of “unregistered securities” by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and statements by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that digital assets pose a threat to the United States. Financial markets in the country. Biden's senior advisors have also called for more regulation of cryptocurrencies.
The Paradigm survey also reveals shifts in the demographics of cryptocurrency holders.
The report notes that “cryptocurrency ownership is higher among communities of color and among young people,” revealing that 33% of African Americans and 32% of Hispanics “currently own, trade, or use cryptocurrencies in 2024.” These numbers were 20% and 22% last year.
“There has been a lot of commentary about the changing electoral preferences of young voters and non-white voters. Clearly the only thing these groups care about is how policymakers deal with cryptocurrencies,” Paradigm concluded.
The survey was conducted recently enough to capture some of the market frenzy over Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which has been credited with fueling much of the recent rally. While 6% of voters say they have invested in cryptocurrency ETFs, and another 6% say they plan to do so, another 22% say they might buy into a bitcoin ETF.
“Americans have taken notice of the option to buy spot bitcoin ETFs in a big way.” Spot crypto ETFs, as expected, are proving to be a major way to attract Americans to cryptocurrencies, and may end up being a step toward directing cryptocurrency ownership. “
The poll's margin of error is 3.5%.
