His firm position that bitcoin is a form of money and as such should be treated, reiterated the former member of the House of Representatives and US presidential candidate, Ron Paul.
Paul is an ardent liberal and has supported the legalization of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the past.
The former lawmaker has also repeatedly spoken out against the Federal Reserve for printing money uncontrollably since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Before appearing at the bitcoin conference in Miami on June 3, the 85-year-old spoke to Kitco News.
Bitcoin is money
Ron Paul described gold and bitcoin as money competing with the US dollar, and stressed that an important reason why investors are looking for such alternative forms of money is to offset the fall in the value of the US dollar.
Paul believes that for this reason, “alternative forms of money” should be taxed like the fiat currency:
“Right now, if you buy and sell gold, you tax it, they can do it.
If you make a profit on bitcoin, you read stories about the people who are taxed on it.
“You can not tax money,” he explains.
Paul believes that US regulators are moving to further regulate and tax bitcoin because it competes with the US dollar.
Ron Paul does not stand so much on the technical side of blockchain technology, but argues that the market should decide, not governments.
