Former college football player and young politician Bo Hines, 29, an obscure name in the crypto industry, has received a high-profile appointment as executive director of the President’s Council of Digital Asset Advisors (or “CryptoCrypto Association”). Council”) position on 23 December 2024. What are their views on crypto?
It’s no surprise that Bo Hines is a pro-crypto politician; if it weren’t so, Trump wouldn’t have thrown him out, given the US president-elect’s bold support for crypto.
Hines has been a consistent critic of Joe Biden and a passionate supporter of Donald Trump for years. That loyalty didn’t go unnoticed, and Trump backed Hines as he runs for a U.S. House seat in North Carolina in 2022. Trump called Hines an “America First patriot,” a “winner both on and off the field,” and a “fighter for conservative values.”
Fortunately, Hines’ views on crypto are far from conservative. Over the years, Hines has made only a few statements regarding cryptocurrencies. While Hines has never been an avid crypto advocate, his statements make it clear that he sees cryptocurrency and decentralized finance as solutions to a variety of problems on a national and individual level.
Statement from Bo Hines For Congress website: Hines disapproves of over-regulation and CBDCs
One of those statements is part of the program that can be found on the website dedicated to Hines’ run for Congress. Mention of DeFi is found in the Economy section of the website.
As an ultra-patriot, Hines begins with the importance of protecting American jobs and businesses at home and builds on America First policies that would deter businesses from fleeing the United States.
Hines then talks about the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector as a way to increase individual financial independence and inclusion, which is a pretty commonplace view.
Hines begins laying out his vision by stating that he sees over-regulation as a threat to the innovation and future development of the DeFi sector. As part of the Crypto Council, Hines will have to overcome many challenges in facilitating balanced and sensitive crypto regulation.
During his campaign for Congress, Hines apparently viewed DeFi as a self-regulating ecosystem based on free market principles, allowing individuals and institutions to grow financially. The emphasis on individuals was crucial to Hines because he noted that crypto gives individuals control over their funds and opportunities.
Another key statement that can be found on his congressional campaign website is Hines’ strong disapproval of central banks’ adoption of digital currencies. Hines sees CBDCs as a threat to financial sovereignty and a violation of decentralization principles.
Bo Hines on X: freedom of expression and individual empowerment in finance
The only time Hines mentioned crypto at sector. Ironically, it was Hines who now stepped up. We’ll see if it can allow the industry to grow. “Decentralized finance is the way of the future if regulators don’t crush it,” he concluded.
Cryptocurrency is the epitome of individual empowerment in finance.
We don’t need the government to step in and impose burdensome regulations on financial innovation. This new industry needs the freedom to grow organically.
Decentralized finance is the way of the future if…
— Bo Hines (@BoHines) January 16, 2024
In many cases, Hines favored X to support free speech. The Bo Hines For Congress website talks about free speech being “under attack from the Authoritarian Left in our country” and calls free speech one of the conditions for the flourishing of Democracy.
I am:
➡️ Pro-America First
➡️ Pro-term limits
➡️ Pro-life
➡️ Pro-school choice
➡️ Pro-gun
➡️ Pro-free speech
Who's with me? 👋
— Bo Hines (@BoHines) February 26, 2021
While Hines has spoken many times about the importance of freedom of expression, he has made no connection between resistance to censorship and blockchain in his statements. Given the fact that blockchain is perfect for facilitating immutable, transparent, inclusive, and censorship-resistant networks, Hines, as a free speech maxi and crypto advocate, would likely appreciate blockchain’s potential in this context.
For all his commitment to free speech, Hines has remained mum about his plans as executive director of the Crypto Council. Following the appointment, Bo Hines expressed his gratitude to his boss Donald Trump and said he was excited to work with “Crypto Czar” David Sacks, who was previously appointed by Trump. Hopefully we’ll soon find out what the Crypto Council will bring to the table.