Sorry crypto folks, Poilievre won’t be friends anymore

by Arthur · September 21, 2022

Ethan Lou: Politically, crypto was the only mistake Poilievre made in an otherwise well-executed campaign

Publication date:

21 September 2022 • 3 hours ago • 4 minute reading • 5 comments

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS files

Pierre Poilievre doesn’t want to talk about cryptocurrency anymore.

Not since the Conservative leadership debate in May, when, amid rapidly falling prices, his rivals attacked him for calling bitcoin a good investment, and bad he had little to say in defense.

Elected Conservative leader in September, Poilievre had appeared on a crypto podcast in February and never again. Another podcast, The Canadian Bitcoiners, has publicly invited him to the show several times this year, but he did not respond. His spokespeople also did not respond to my requests for an interview.

Don’t expect him to make any significant political promises about cryptocurrency as he heads into the next federal election.

Make Canada a “blockchain capital,” as Poilievre declared in March? That will not happen.

Because such is modern politics, which is often less about politics and ideology and more about which way the wind blows.

Poilievre dipped his toes into the crypto world and got burned. Politically, it was the one mistake he made in an otherwise well-executed campaign.

Do you remember early 2022? It seems so far away in the rearview mirror. Back then, bitcoin was still roaring. It was off the near US$70,000 peak, but still strong and even appreciated, at one point topping US$47,000.

True devotees say the price is immaterial. But the price is what catches the eye. And price, in the fickle, shallow eye of public sentiment, is the unfortunate deciding factor of whether cryptocurrency people are visionaries or clowns.

Poilievre no doubt thought he could capture a certain segment of supporters by going rah-rah on cryptocurrencies. He said he would change tax rules to treat them the same as commodities, such as gold. He also said he would create a more permissive regulatory environment for cryptocurrency companies.

But with the subsequent crash, when bitcoin fell below US$20,000 and the entire broader sector sank, cryptocurrency pushing alienated all non-fans.

What could Poilievre really be saying when a fellow Conservative leadership candidate pointed out during the May debate that if people had bought a bitcoin when he praised it, they would have lost $37,000?

People can make their own investment decisions

Pierre Poilievre

“People can make their own investment decisions,” Poilievre said. “I have simply said that they should be free to decide whether they want to use bitcoin or not.”

Not his strongest moment.

Of course, this is not specifically a bitcoin or cryptocurrency problem. With rising interest rates, everything has fallen. Top to bottom, Tesla Inc. stock has nearly halved.

That’s why politicians generally don’t go around talking about specific investments. Market cycles come and go, and while you may look good to certain people now, you’re going to look really stupid to the rest when prices drop.

Poilievre was fortunate in that he had long been the presumed front-runner in the Conservative leadership race, and his main rival, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, was disqualified. Otherwise, his involvement with cryptocurrency could have really cost him.

He acknowledged it, and probably shied away from it as a result. But that didn’t stop others from remembering his past support.

Just two days after Poilievre won the Conservative leadership race, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Telling people they can opt out of inflation by investing their savings in volatile cryptocurrencies is not responsible leadership.”

Hit them where it hurts.

Say what you will about Trudeau, but he is no less a seasoned political operator than Poilievre. Trudeau went straight for the chink in Poilievre’s armour.

Yes, cryptocurrency support will look much better when prices are back up. That could be the case for a potential Poilievre government.

And no one ever does just nothing with cryptocurrency. It is a new industry that politics has long lagged behind. We could certainly see one or two favorable elements come out of a potential Poilievre administration – or any other government.

Even the US government, which has recently taken a tougher stance on cryptocurrency, has misunderstood that there is value in “exploiting the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology.”

It’s just that bull markets and cryptocurrency fads are fleeting. Mainstream public sentiment will turn against the industry when the bear market inevitably returns. Poilievre has experienced that once already, and he cannot afford any more mistakes or uncertainty as he enters a tougher political battle.

As a result, don’t expect anything world-changing from him in terms of cryptocurrency policy if he becomes Prime Minister.

Notice how much tamer Poilievre has been since winning the Conservative leadership. In September, in his first speech to his caucus as leader, he left out all the less mainstream stuff he had talked about before: the World Economic Forum in Davos, defunding the CBC, firing the Bank of Canada governor, the “freedom convoy.” ” at Ottawa.

And, of course, there wasn’t a single mention of cryptocurrency.

Ethan Lou is a journalist and author of Once a Bitcoin Miner: Scandal and Turmoil in the Cryptocurrency Wild West.

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