U.S. Congressman Gets Bitcoin in Special Custom-Made Wallet

Ron Paul, a former Republican congressman from the state of Texas and a past hopeful for the United States presidential election, received his first Bitcoin, as a gift from the Bitcoin Foundation board member Bobby Lee. According to a Twitter post published by Lee on October 28, Paul received the asset in a custom made wallet—which was personally customized to fit the politician, unique with a targeted serial number and his favorite color. 

Forgot to mention, I also gave Dr. @RonPaul his first #Bitcoin, loaded into a nice @BalletCrypto gold-plated REAL Bitcoin wallet.

It was a special serial number AA000820 to match his birthday! And he loves the #Gold color. 😊 https://t.co/B1iQQKFYNq pic.twitter.com/L8eEStvG2A

— Bobby Lee – Ballet: World's EASIEST Cold Storage! (@bobbyclee) November 2, 2019

The special gift was presented to Paul at lunch organized at the 2019 Litecoin Summit, where Bobby Lee and Litecoin founder Charlie Lee were present. Paul is known for his libertarian views on currency and the financial system, declaring his support for alternative investment. However, while he primarily pitches his tent on the side of gold, he has also been known to be a supporter of blockchain technology and crypto assets, as he believes that a little competition is beneficial for all.

Crypto is slowly influencing politics 

The intersection between cryptocurrencies and politics is still quite significant. While the asset class has been able to invade just about every aspect of human life, politics remains largely insulated from its effects. As a matter of fact, certain institutions have done their bit to ensure that cryptocurrencies are unable to affect their political landscapes. 

For instance, the Associated Press reported in September 2018 that the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), the political watchdog for the state of California, banned candidates running for state positions from receiving crypto donations.

Andrew Yang and the crypto campaign 

This hasn’t stopped politicians from embracing crypto, nonetheless. Perhaps the most significant of these is Andrew Yang, a popular philanthropist and hopeful Democrat nominee for the 220 Presidential elections. Yang, who made his name in the tech space before trying his hand at politics, has declared his support for Bitcoin. Beyond the speech, Yang went a step further by accepting Bitcoin donations for his campaign. 

Back in July, about a dozen crypto enthusiasts who support Yang launched the Humanity Forward Fund, a crypto-friendly Super PAC. The PAC, which runs on popular payment processor OpenNode, will be able to accept donations to the Yang campaign from Lightning Wallets. 

Speaking with news medium CoinDesk, OpenNode chief executive Afnan Rahman said, “The super PAC obviously wants to receive donations as large as possible. But at the same time, individuals who want to donate just a bit to Yang’s platform now have that opportunity. It allows the donors to have all of the amounts to go toward the actual donation rather than miner fees.”

Apart from accepting Bitcoin, Yang has also listed in an official promise on his campaign site that he would work to promote legislation that provides clarity on the cryptocurrency industry.