Ro Khanna delivered a powerful but short speech on the 11th of March 2025 at Bitcoin Policy Institute. Bitcoin for America summit.
“Bitcoin is transformational for so many people around the world,” Rep. Khanna made the following statement at the Summit. “That is why the Democratic Party should be embracing it as something that can create financial empowerment for people not just in the United States, but around the world.”
It’s the message that he has spread for years and he urges his Democratic colleagues to follow him. He has urged his fellow Democrats to follow in his footsteps and not be scared by Bitcoin, but instead to treat it like other technological advances of today such as the internet.
“My goal is to make Bitcoin bipartisan,” Rep. Khanna spoke to Bitcoin Magazine. “I want to convince Democrats that bitcoin is a next-generation store of value that millions of people around the world use and that America showing leadership on it allows us to connect with these people, often some of the most disenfranchised.”
Bitcoin is an open source technology anyone can access with just an Internet connection. without one).
Rep. Khanna said that while he is still one of the more vocal Democrats who are pro-Bitcoin, over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Democratic legislators that have expressed their support for the technology.
“We went from just 10 of us or so supporting Bitcoin and crypto to almost 70 or 80,” said Rep. Khanna. “It’s happening slowly.”
While some attribute the Democrats’ past stances on Bitcoin to malicious intent, Rep. Khanna says the problem is rather a lack understanding of its purpose and application cases.
“Some Democratic politicians are not aware of how helpful Bitcoin can be with remittances or how it can be used by those who don’t have access to U.S. dollars,” The congressman said. “Many people around the world use it for both reasons,” Er adumbrated that this might be a fact not known by many people, even some Democrats.
Bitcoin and Crypto Voting Bloc in U.S. Swing States
As per research from CoinbaseThere were about 10x more crypto owners in swing states during the recent U.S. election than there was in terms of votes.
Harris was beaten by Trump in all of these states that were considered swing. Some speculated that it may have been the high turnout among the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency voting bloc that helped Trump win the election.
Rep. Khanna is unsure to what degree this voting bloc affected election results. However, he agrees that it’s likely been one of the major factors that influenced the result of the election.
“I think it made a difference,” The congressman said. “In such a close election, everything matters, and the fact that there were some Democrats who offended Bitcoin and crypto voters was not helpful.”
Rep. Khanna, however, isn’t the only one to acknowledge this.
On December 2024 at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Van Jones — political analyst, media persona, and prominent voice within the Democratic party — stated It was the Democratic Party’s loss that they shut out pro Bitcoin and pro crypto voters.
Rep. Khanna praised Jones and stated that more voices in the Democratic Party, like Jones’s, should speak out in support of Bitcoin soon.
“I have a lot of respect for Van Jones,” said Rep. Khanna.
“He spent some time in the Bay Area, so he gets technology. The party will be moving in a direction that’s going to embrace Bitcoin and other technologies,” He added.
Does President Trump’s embrace of Bitcoin deter Democrats from supporting it?
It seems reasonable that Democrats would change their stance towards Bitcoin in order to win seats in the House of Representatives and Senate in 2026. However, given the polarized political atmosphere in the U.S. as well as the fact that Bitcoin is a relatively new currency it seems hard to believe that more Democrats will support Bitcoin. President Trump is an ardent Bitcoin supporter.
Rep. Khanna said that Democrats should not think along party lines in regards to Bitcoin but instead assess the technology solely based on its own merits.
“Politicians are capable of evaluating Bitcoin on its merits,” said Rep. Khanna.
“Bitcoin is just a decentralized digital currency that enables peer-to-peer transactions without a need for an intermediary. People just need to study Bitcoin and learn that it’s just a medium of exchange,” He added.
Rep. Khanna did not hesitate to make a distinction between Bitcoins and memes, stressing that the recently launched coin by the President ($TRUMP) has created confusion over the true value of cryptocurrency assets such as bitcoin.
“We shouldn’t have elected officials like President Trump launching meme coins,” The congressman said.
Get Democrats to the right side of history
Should Democrats, who were once considered the party of middle-class and working-class Americans, put Bitcoin at the forefront of their agenda in a period when so many are having difficulty making ends meet?
Rep. Khanna isn’t sure, but doesn’t believe the party should keep slamming the technology.
“There are far bigger issues at hand right now like the cuts in Medicaid, the firing of veterans, and the erratic policy of tariffs,” He explained.
“But the Democrats were on the wrong side of issues of innovation and Bitcoin in 2022 and 2024, and we now have an opportunity to get on the right side of it,” He added.
What can pro Bitcoin Democrat voters do to help get their party back on track when it comes Bitcoin?
Rep. Khanna offered a few ideas:
“They should point to those of us who are leading on Bitcoin and crypto,” He said.
“They can encourage members of government to study the issue, so that they’re not uninformed,” He added.
“And they should talk about the enormous adoption of Bitcoin.”
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
