Republican seeking to unseat Sherrod Brown said he sold all his Bitcoin

As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen interest in politics, I find myself intrigued by Bernie Moreno’s stance on digital assets and his bid for the United States Senate in Ohio. Having navigated the volatile waters of the cryptocurrency market, I can appreciate the challenges of striking a balance between industry support and avoiding potential conflicts of interest.


According to reports, Bernie Moreno, a Republican contender for the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, is said to have liquidated his Bitcoin (BTC) assets to avoid any perceived conflicts of interest related to backing from the cryptocurrency sector.

As stated in a Cleveland.com article published on October 28, Moreno expressed his satisfaction for receiving backing from the cryptocurrency sector as he competes against Senator Sherrod Brown in an attempt to replace him.

The Senate candidate has received more than $40 million in support through media buys from the political action committee (PAC) Defend American Jobs, an affiliate of Fairshake that primarily helps Republican candidates. 

As an analyst, I take pride in knowing that my industry stands behind me. To clarify, their support isn’t merely a favor or agreement out of convenience; rather, it stems from the fact that they share similar views and beliefs with me.

The senator leading the Senate Banking Committee, Brown, has been a member of the U.S. Senate since 2007 and is known as one of Congress’s most outspoken critics of digital assets. Opinion polls conducted in October hinted that Moreno and Brown were neck-and-neck in terms of potential victory for the 2024 election, with this seat being crucial as it could influence whether Republicans will gain a majority in the Senate.

If Senator Brown manages to defeat Moreno, but the Republicans secure a majority in the Senate by then, it’s probable that he will need to give up his role as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee come January 2025.

Republican seeking to unseat Sherrod Brown said he sold all his Bitcoin

Beyond donating through Political Action Committees (PACs), notable figures in the cryptocurrency industry such as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini, Fred Ehrsam, a founding member of Coinbase, and Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, have personally donated to Moreno’s campaign.

Previously significant backer, Ron Conway, allegedly withdrew his financial backing from Fairshake’s cryptocurrency Political Action Committee (PAC), following the revelation that they were planning to endorse Moreno.

Different crypto visions for the US Senate

As a businessman hailing from Ohio, Moreno hasn’t served in any elected positions. In 2018, he advocated for the state to acknowledge Bitcoin as a form of tax payment, but this suggestion didn’t receive endorsement from the State Board of Deposits.

As stated in a report from Cleveland.com, Moreno expressed his intention to bring “regulatory clarity” to the industry should he be elected to the Senate. His Twitter posts have been critical of Senators Brown and Warren’s crypto policies in 2024, yet there is no mention of digital assets or blockchain technology among the 16 priorities outlined on his campaign website.

Republican seeking to unseat Sherrod Brown said he sold all his Bitcoin

As an analyst, I can foresee that the contest between Senator Brown and Moreno in the 2024 US election could rival as one of the costliest, surpassed only by the presidential duel between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Preliminary reports indicate that a staggering sum of over $400 million was expended on campaigning and advertisements for the Ohio Senate race alone.

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2024-10-29 01:14