Buterin says this approach will encourage all candidates to pretend being pro-crypto for the sake of donations.

The Canadian programmer who co-founded the decentralized blockchain Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has cautioned against backing political candidates solely based on their publicly-declared pro-crypto positions. He fears this approach will encourage candidates to pretend being pro-cryptocurrency and make empty promises for the crypto industry, but that would be just for the sake of donations from crypto exchanges and enthusiasts.

His comments starkly contrast the pro-Trump rhetoric from other prominent figures in the cryptocurrency community in response to the ex-president’s assurance that he would support the crypto industry and decentralized finances.

Buterin warns against supporting politicians just because they favor cryptocurrency, suggesting that this approach creates an incentive for politicians to pander to the crypto community without genuinely understanding or supporting its principles.

"By publicly giving the impression that you support 'pro-crypto' candidates just because they are 'pro-crypto,' you are helping to create an incentive gradient where politicians come to understand that all they need to get your support is to support 'crypto,'" Buterin wrote on his blog.

The crypto entrepreneur notes a growing trend within the crypto space to become politically active and favor candidates and parties that are lenient towards crypto. He argues that this trend risks betraying the values that originally attracted people to cryptocurrency.

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Buterin's stance contrasts with those of other crypto leaders who vocally support Donald Trump's presidential bid. Among these are cryptocurrency tycoons Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins who had sued Mark Zuckerberg decades ago for stealing their idea of social media. Each of them has donated $1 million in bitcoin to Donald Trump’s campaign and pledged to vote for the former president in November.

Their crypto exchange Gemini Trust was obliged last February to return at least $1.1 billion to customers of its beleaguered lending program due to a third party’s bankruptcy and pay a fine of $37 million for unsafe and unsound practices as part of a settlement with the regulator.

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