The Left Hates Bitcoin Because They Can’t Control It, Ted Cruz Says

In a recent, highly publicized CPAC event, Republican Senator Ted Cruz joyfully walked to the stage to welcome Bitcoin, riding on Canada's "Freedom Convoy" rallies. Cruz slammed his political opponents, ranging from Justin Trudeau and Elizabeth Warren to the Chinese Communist Party, for opposing Bitcoin out of a desire to restrict people's financial independence and civil freedoms, in a typically pro-Republican tirade.

The Canadian trucker narrative, of course, appealed to Cruz's right-wing sympathies. The Freedom Convoy rallies were unified in their opposition to the Trudeau government's vaccine mandates. It was also closely affiliated with right-wing politicians like Tamara Lich of the far-right Maverick Party. Many people were overwhelmed by the political pressure, and GoFundMe, a private crowdsourcing platform, had to halt fundraising after raising more than $10 million for the truckers.

Cruz's anti-leftist perspective on Bitcoin is only flawed because it is cloaked in partisan nonsense. Bitcoin is unconcerned with your political beliefs. It has nothing to do with the progressive left, conservative right, or political middle. Bitcoin is non-partisan and apolitical.

Because of its decentralized design, no single entity can change the network unless there is widespread agreement. If there is anyone for Bitcoin, it is the individual.

Cruz's attempt to give Bitcoin a politically partisan spin is not only logically illogical but is also disconnected from the evidence of its existing use. Take a look at Bitcoin's history over the last few years.

Cruz, like most of his type in Washington, knows how to play the populist card. But, suffice it to say, his voracious need to strike political opportunism while it's hot would prevent him from pitching his political tent as far as white supremacists, the Black Lives Matter movement, or North Korea - all of whom he has publicly blasted on record.

Despite this, all of these organizations have used Bitcoin for their own purposes in some fashion.

Even the most seasoned Bitcoin users recognize the digital asset's apolitical nature. It's essentially what drew them in in the first place. Bitcoin's ideology is ingrained in its radical neutrality since it simply cannot be controlled centrally. It was born out of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the same year Bitcoin's pseudonymous author Satoshi Nakamoto authored its white paper.

As ludicrous as it is to suggest that the First Amendment is anti-left because it permits right-wingers to verbally thrash their opponents, as Cruz does, is to couch Bitcoin in partisan right-wing political jargon. It's also very deceptive.

Cruz is one of the most outspoken supporters of the anti-Big Tech campaign, arguing that Facebook, Twitter, and Google should be regulated by the federal government.

Cruz isn't the only politician who's tried to use Bitcoin to further their political goals. The most vocal anti-cryptocurrency politicians in Washington, such as Elizabeth Warren, face the same contradictions, but in the opposite direction. She misses out on Bitcoin's potential for economic liberation for people of color who have been historically disenfranchised by focusing entirely on how it is used by negative actors.