The father of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has become an "elder statesman" of the cryptocurrency movement, according to a new Politico magazine report.
"The 'Ron Paul Revolution,' as the Texas congressman’s zealous followers called it, racked up delegates and riled the Republican establishment over the course of two disruptive, insurgent presidential primary campaigns. His crusade, which animated libertarians by demanding an end to the Federal Reserve System and a return to the gold standard, turned out a failure. But a cadre of his revolutionaries remained undeterred, and they soon found another way to disrupt the global monetary system," Politico reported. "They became evangelists of a new kind of computer software that mimicked Paul’s beloved gold and was inspired by the same economic theories that informed his activism."
Paul represent Texas in Congress and ran for president as a libertarian in 1988 and as a Republican in 2008 and 2012.
"With libertarians in the political wilderness of the Trump era, cryptocurrency began to take off around the world. Following the initial cohort of libertarian cypherpunks, the technology came to be embraced by criminals, then maverick investors, then finally financial institutions," Politico reported. "Four years later, the radicals vying to pry money away from state control are poised to leave behind the realm of bizarre sideshows and crash the main event. Washington, they believe, will finally be forced to reckon with their ideas. Indeed, as the total value of cryptocurrencies has grown to nearly $2 trillion, nation states have been forced to pay serious attention to the technology."
It has emboldened Paul.
Politico reported, "It’s no wonder that years after his quixotic presidential quest became a punchline, their patron saint feels certain that he will have the last laugh. 'I’m more convinced than ever,' a downright giddy Paul told Politico Magazine, 'and our numbers are growing'.”
However, Paul doesn't fully understand the technology.
"For Paul, though, the fact that they are making it mainstream to question the dollar system and the role of the Federal Reserve amounts to a late-breaking victory over the central powers he has long campaigned against," Politico explained. "He relishes this victory even though cryptocurrency still strikes him the same way he has long struck much of the public — as kind of nutty. 'It’s something I can’t even see,” he said. “I want to hold it in my hand. That bewilders me.'”
Read the full report.
