Why cryptocurrencies are of such interest to the far right

BarcelonaHe crypto fiasco The attack by Javier Milei a few weeks ago has once again exemplified the close relationship between the far right—especially the so-called anarcho-capitalists—and cryptocurrencies. The far-right president of Argentina promoted the digital currency $Libra as soon as it was launched on the marketMoments after seeing the light of day, its value swelled rapidly, only to suddenly deflate to record lows. The operation caused thousands of people to lose money: specifically, it is estimated that 44,000 followers of the Argentine leader could have been victims of the operation, although Milei claims that "only" 5,000 were involved. "If you go to the casino and lose money, what's the point?" he later justified. in an interview.

This modus operandi It is very reminiscent of the one used on several occasions by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. The founder of Tesla and majority shareholder of X has managed to move the markets on several occasions by promoting virtual currencies. In particular, spreading the so-called memecoins, Inspired by internet memes and characterized by their volatile nature. One of the most promoted is Dogecoin, known for its drawing of a Shiba Inu dog. Incidentally, it's no coincidence that his new position in the Trump administration is newly created in the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE for short.

"Being a deregulated asset, the extremists feel reflected in it," explains Toni Rodon, a doctor in political science, associate professor at Pompeu Fabra University, and researcher at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE). Thus, the political scientist explains that there are many "points of alignment" between the ideological plane of the extremists and the crypto world. Virtual currencies also allow them to make their discourse felt, since, for them, "the less regulated an asset is, the better." Figuratively, then, they are the perfect ingredient and serve to equate success with deregulation.

Perhaps for this reason, Musk has managed to spread his enthusiasm to his colleague Donald Trump, who years ago was more skeptical of these assets. In fact, so much so that last week, the US president ordered the creation of state cryptocurrency reserves. However, as announced, these assets will not be purchased with public money: the reserve will be intended to house all cryptocurrencies seized in criminal or civil proceedings. That is, all those that come from criminal activities.

The economic reserve

But how could they fit into their economic model? Xavier Brun, academic director of the Master's in Finance and Banking at UPF-BSM, explains that, while it has never been fully defined, cryptocurrencies could be seen "as an asset similar to gold for central banks." Thus, they could serve as an escape from state currencies, which are regulated. To understand this, he exemplifies it with the situation in Russia at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. "They had a large part of their reserves in dollars and, with Western sanctions, they were unable to sell them," he explains. Cryptocurrencies are the opposite: they do not depend on any regulatory body and are universal.

In Spain, the person who has most embraced cryptocurrencies has been the leader of Se ha Acabado la Fiesta and influencer, Alvise Pérez. In fact, his close relationship with this world has caused him headaches. Specifically, The Prosecutor's Office is investigating whether the far-right leader financed his campaign for the last European elections irregularly., after Perez himself admitted that he received 100,000 euros from a crypto influencer. Allegedly, the far-right leader has promised to legislate in favor of cryptocurrencies if one day he ends up having a relevant role in the composition of the Spanish Parliament in exchange for the money. Vox, for its part, has always remained more skeptical. "Some of the far-right leaders still see cryptocurrencies as something geeky and that they won't have much of a following," explains Toni Rodon.

Now, among all the libertarians in love with crypto, there is one that stands out above the rest. The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, came forward with a law that legalized the use of bitcoins as a currency"Bukele went further; he wanted to become a pioneer," says Xavier Brun. Since then, in El Salvador, digital currency has theoretically been "unlimited." However, its use is "optional," and the country's main currency is the dollar.