Andrew Yang, the former Presidential candidate and prominent supporter of Bitcoin has officially filed paperwork to run for New York City Mayor. Yang praised Bitcoin in the past for its high potential and advocated clear cryptocurrency regulations.
According to the list issued by the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Yang is one of the candidates for the city’s 2021 elections. Yang is an entrepreneur and a former technology executive. He is a political commentator who spent his time as a contributor at CNN after leaving the Presidential campaign.
Yang has been a strong supporter of Bitcoin and other digital assets. During an interview with Bloomberg, Yang outline the importance of cryptocurrencies. He added that the current regulatory environment in the US is discouraging for innovative technologies like digital currencies.
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have quickly grown to represent a large amount of value and economic activity, outstripping the government’s response. I’m planning to promote legislation that provides clarity on cryptocurrency/digital asset market space by defining what a token is and which federal agencies have regulatory power over crypto/digital assets space,” Yang said during his Presidential campaign.
New York City
After a not so successful campaign as a Presidential candidate, Yang is planning to become the mayor of the most important city in the US as far as crypto regulation is concerned. New York State Department of Financial Services introduced BitLicense to the companies involved in the business of digital assets. The New York State granted licenses to several crypto companies during 2015 and 2019. New York City is one of the most prominent jurisdictions for the crypto community in the US because of its location.
Andrew Yang gained popularity after he introduced Freedom Dividend Plan to give most Americans $1,000 a month. He has been a great supporter of financial freedom and advocated cryptocurrencies because of their decentralized nature. If he becomes the mayor of New York City, he can play a significant role in a regulatory framework for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
(Photo: Gage Skidmore via flickr)
