Tag: Ron Paul

Why Ron Paul Is Bullish On Liberty And Bitcoin

by Bitcoin Magazine

The legendary politician, who advocated for many of the underlying principles present in sound money, believes liberty is inherent to Bitcoin.

One of the most exciting moments for me personally at Bitcoin 2021 was getting the chance to interview Dr. Ron Paul. A true pioneer in libertarianism, Dr. Paul is an advocate for so many of the underlying principles present in Bitcoin. It was truly an honor and privilege to get a quick word from him on his thoughts about Bitcoin. Be sure to watch his Bitcoin 2021 speech on YouTube after reading our interview below.

Casey Carrillo: First of all, thank you so much for joining us here, Dr. Ron Paul. We really appreciate you coming. So many of us see you as a hero of ours, so thank you again.

To start off, how were you first introduced to Bitcoin?

Dr. Ron Paul: It was probably indirectly by just reading about it. When it first started, I didn’t hear much about it because I wasn’t into that. Probably just the business stations, magazines, and the freedom movement, they started thinking about it. I think I associate it more with libertarianism, and I don’t think anyone resents me associating Bitcoin with libertarianism, and I made that big point that the answers will come from dealing with the issue of liberty. Liberty is the answer, then all the quirks that have to be worked out, with government and everything else, are much easier when we live in a free society where people are allowed to do what they want.

Carrillo: Absolutely, I think there is a connection between liberty and Bitcoin that can’t be severed. Going off of that, what do you think the impact of permissionless sound money will be on the world in the long term?

Paul: I don’t really know; I know there are a lot of opinions, but I think only time will tell. There are some unpredictables. One would be the government; one would be “what’s the world like?” I think things are going to get worse socially, but how do we react? And if it works that Bitcoin can operate in a parallel manner under the right circumstances, that could be very beneficial. If there was a society that had more respect for liberty, it makes it a lot easier. Then you don’t have to dodge people that are trying to close you down because they don’t want competition. And libertarians should be quite willing to have competition.

Carrillo: How do you think the U.S. could foster better innovation towards Bitcoin, specifically U.S. policymakers?

Paul: While there are others who would know more about that, my idea is very simple; the least amount of government is the best. Just get them out of the way. There will always be risk in things that we do. In new things there will be risk, but the person that’s doing it that benefit, they should also have the same risk That’s why you don’t wanna say, “Let’s have a government commission to set up some rules on how we’re going to allow Bitcoin to expand themselves and where they go.” I don’t like that. I want people who know about the issue to not have any interference from the government.

Carrillo: What makes you most hopeful about what you’re seeing in the Bitcoin community going forward?

Paul: I think the whole idea. I noticed it a lot at this meeting [Bitcoin 2021]. Sometimes if I go to a meeting, I might not throw the word libertarian around and liberty because you know they might be more conservative, or independent, or democrats, but I’m always trying to introduce it. Here, what I found is that in this audience [Bitcoiners] I don’t think I offended anybody by putting the two terms together; Bitcoin as a libertarian idea. Because I think that’s where I heard about it first when libertarians got into computers before. I think the association is very clear that it is perfectly okay. And I think I even ribbed the mayor [Francis Suarez] about it, and he took it very well.

And I don’t know if I spent enough time on it, is that when people do things, you don’t endorse what they’re doing. Like I did with the marijuana. I want it to be legal, but I don’t do it, or I don’t care about that. It’s because people have the right to do it, and they also have the right to deal with the consequences.

Carrillo: I absolutely agree, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this interview with me Dr. Paul, and I appreciate you being here at Bitcoin 2021 with us. Thanks again. 

Watch Dr. Ron Paul’s talk at Bitcoin 2021 on YouTube.

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Former Congressman Ron Paul Calls for Legalizing BTC But Don’t Tax

by Blockchain News

Former US Presidential candidate and Congressman Ron Paul doubled down on his pro-Bitcoin plan, calling for the legalisation of Bitcoin (BTC) as a form of money.

Paul argues that Bitcoin and Gold represent the effective hedges citizens and investors turn to in a bid to wade off the dwindling value of the US dollar and fiat currencies in general. Paul is a staunch critic of the Federal Reserve’s excessive printing of money during the coronavirus pandemic.

In his interview with Kitco News Wednesday, Paul said that  Bitcoin is money and should not be regulated like the Dollar.

“Right now, if you buy and sell gold, you get it taxed. They can do that. If you make a profit in Bitcoin, you read stories about people being taxed on it. You can’t tax money. You don’t tax it. If you bought a dollar a year ago and it went down 10%, you can’t take a loss because your dollar lost value,” he said.

Per the legalisation of Bitcoin, Paul advocates that should take people’ choice into account and not be a state affair.

“I will argue more the case for the legalisation of freedom of choice, and the people should make a decision, not the government,” he said. “And the market will finally determine that my goal is to help legalise the competition. And I think the people will sort it out; freedom of choice will sort it out.”

The question of regulating cryptocurrencies is a highly discreet affair amongst market authorities around the world. While the stance of China, Nigeria, and the United States appears to align, most countries today are exploring ways to tax Bitcoin and crypto-assets. Verbally, the tax authorities of Norway and Australia have advised their crypto investors to adhere to taxation rules as the way of anonymity is a myth.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Former congressman Ron Paul: Bitcoin is money and should be taxed the same

by Cointelegraph

Former presidential candidate and congressman Ron Paul has renewed calls for Bitcoin to be legalized as money and not taxed.

Paul is a staunch libertarian and author of the Bitcoiner favorite “End the Fed,” who has advocated for the legalization of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the past. The former congressman has also regularly taken aim against the Federal Reserve for its unchecked money printing since the pandemic began.

Ahead of his appearance at the Miami Bitcoin conference on June 3, the 85 year-old spoke with  streaming financial news provider Kitco News and noted that his goal is to “help legalize the competition, and then I think the people will sort it out. Freedom of choice will sort it out.”

The former congressman described gold and Bitcoin as money and “competition” to the U.S. Dollar — and highlighted that a major reason investors seek out such alternative forms of money is to hedge against the declining value of the U.S dollar.

Paul believes that for this reason, “alternate forms of money” should be taxed the same as fiat currency:

“Right now, if you buy and sell gold, you get it taxed, they can do that. If you make a profit in Bitcoin, you read stories about people being taxed on it. You can’t tax money, you don’t tax it. If you bought a dollar a year ago and it went down 10%, you can’t take a loss because your dollar lost value.”

Paul believes that U.S. regulatory bodies are moving to regulate and further tax Bitcoin because it’s competing with the U.S. dollar, and noted that governments throughout history have been “notoriously very eager to have control of the money,” and predicted they “will never give up control.”

“But I would apply that same concern to gold, because you know, what was the first thing Roosevelt did in 1933? He immediately took all the gold from the people,” he said.

When asked about the subject matter for his address at the Miami Bitcoin conference, Paul emphasized that he won’t necessarily be speaking on the technical significance of blockchain technology, or from a pro-Bitcoin perspective, but more from the angle of letting the market decide and freedom of choice:

“I won’t try to explain exactly technically whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent. I will argue more the case for the legalization of freedom of choice and the. People should make decisions and not the government.”