Former Prominent Libertarian Congressman Ron Paul: Full Tax Exemption on Cryptocurrency

One of the most fascinating political figures in U.S. politics – although he was largely ignored by the media – is the former libertarian congressman from Texas Ron Paul. As an active congressman, Paul was critical of both sides of the political aisle and was not distinctly associated with either side; today, as a political commentator and pundit (primarily on the social media), Paul still doesn’t align with any specific side – sometimes he censures President Trump and other times he praises him.

And his approach to the crypto world is just as interesting.

A few days ago, Paul published an article on his website, castigating the U.S. Federal Reserve in particular and central banks in general; this attitude brings Paul to virtually full agreement with the staunchest crypto advocates.

In contrast to market money, government-created fiat currency is anything but stable. Central banks constantly increase and decrease the money supply in an attempt to control the economy by controlling the interest rates. This causes individuals to misread market conditions, leading to a misallocation of resources. This can create an illusion of prosperity. But eventually reality catches up to the Federal Reserve-created fantasies. When that happens, there is a recession or worse, leading the Fed to start the whole boom-and-bust cycle over again.

Government-created fiat currency is bad, “market money” (money that’s not controlled by a single authority and whose value is determined solely by the market) is good. That’s the epitome of the crypto approach.

Paul did not settle just with that theoretical thesis, but he also pushes for a more proactive modus operandi – one that would surprise even the most indefatigable cryptocurrency supporters.

The only way to avoid crisis is to force Congress to end our monetary madness. The first steps are passing the Audit the Fed bill, allowing people to use alternative currencies, and exempting all transactions in precious metals and cryptocurrencies from capital gains taxes and other taxes.

Yup, read that line again: “exempting all transactions in precious metals and cryptocurrencies from capital gains taxes and other taxes.” It’s difficult to envision even the wildest crypto enthusiast suggests this kind of a policy.

Ron Paul has certainly made a long way since making that astounding proclamation. In late 2017, he referred to Bitcoin as the “biggest bubble of them all,” adding that cryptocurrency is threatening and is a danger. Six months later, however, Paul completely changed his tone and already began advocating for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in his compelling essay, “The Dollar Dilemma: Where to From Here?”

The proper course is to make certain that free people in the marketplace make the choice whether the use cryptos, absent the dictates of government and central banks.

And now, as aforementioned, Paul calls for exempting cryptocurrencies from taxes. Ron Paul still holds a lot of influence on many people, especially libertarians; it would be incredibly intriguing to see if current presiding libertarian politicians would adopt Paul’s proposition or not.