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Vivek Ramaswamy is likely the biggest supporter of crypto among the current crop of presidential candidates. But his enthusiasm comes not from an inherent love of the technology or its principles themselves, but a dissatisfaction with what he calls the “administrative state” that’s stifled innovation in a number of important industries, crypto among them.

On this episode of Unchained, Ramaswamy discusses his radical plan to slash the number of people working at federal agencies; his three-point crypto policy plan based on the freedom to code as a protected form of expression, the freedom of financial self-reliance, and the freedom to innovate free from regulatory overreach; why the current orientation of the U.S. government towards regulation of the crypto industry by enforcement isn’t helping anyone; his plans to stabilize the U.S. dollar by pegging it to a basket of commodities that could eventually include Bitcoin; why he’s so opposed to central bank digital currencies; and what industries he thinks could benefit from the use of blockchain technology.

Show highlights:

  • how Vivek, who has a background in biotech, fell down the “crypto rabbit hole”
  • how the administrative branch of government doesn’t work like it’s supposed to, according to Vivek
  • why he believes the government poses a threat to the future of crypto
  • how he would respond to a situation in which the code of a smart contract is exploited
  • how Vivek would prevent the use of crypto for illicit ends
  • why he thinks that the current status quo in terms of crypto regulation is the “worst of all worlds”
  • Vivek’s plan to stabilize the U.S. dollar by pegging it to a basket of commodities, potentially including Bitcoin
  • why he is so against the creation of a central bank digital currency in the U.S.
  • how blockchain technology can be used to help the U.S. maintain its technological supremacy

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