U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is public about his positive stand on Bitcoin. On several occasions, the Senator has defended the cryptocurrency from the actions and statements of his colleagues in the U.S. institution.
Related Reading | MicroStrategy Deepens Its Bitcoin Bet With 4,167 BTC Purchase
Recently, Cruz attempted to expose those trying to oppose and slow down Bitcoin adoption in this country. On his podcast, called “Verdict with Ted Cruz”, the government official talked about the threats to BTC, inflation, and the current state of the world economy.
In this context, Cruz said that politicians and massive “expanding in Washington” are behind the U.S. current inflation. At its highest levels since the 1970s, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a metric used to measure inflation, recorded an 8.5% on its latest print.
Cruz believes these inflation levels are “hurting the American people” leading to an increase in adoption levels for Bitcoin. The higher the inflation, the more people want to own Bitcoin, Cruz concluded during his program. The government official added:
As you know, I’m a huge proponent of Bitcoin, I’m a huge proponent of cryptocurrency. I think it is an incredibly important innovation.
The U.S. Senator reiterated that he has personally invested in BTC. Cruz uses the cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation, something that other investors replicate.
This narrative of BTC as a hedge against inflation and central bank monetary policy has gained more strength with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past two years, institutions, high net worth individuals, and government officials have warmed up to the cryptocurrency on the back of high inflation.
Bitcoin Is A Hedge Against Inflation “By Design”
Cruz believes people naturally move to gold and commodities in times of inflation. On the above, Cruz said the following about BTC and its capacity to protect the average investor from inflation:
Bitcoin by design cannot go over 21 million. It’s a finite sum, and at the end of the day a currency it’s a means of exchange and a way of setting value of one item vis-à-vis another item (…). When you have politicians devaluing everyone’s good and services, (people) they look for other ways to store value (…).
In that sense, he emphasized his support for crypto but believes “Washington politicians” could “screw up” BTC. The government official believes this is a “real threat”.
Discussing the possibility of making legal tender, the U.S. Senator claimed there shouldn’t be a government mandate on this possibility. In other words, he believes people will adopt it naturally. In a scenario where BTC replaces the dollar, Cruz claims he “wouldn’t oppose it”
Related Reading | Data: Bitcoin Whales Are Increasingly Preferring OTC Deals Over Exchanges
At the time of writing, BTC’s price trades $39,700 with a 4% loss in the last 24-hours.
BTC with moderate losses on the 4-hour chart. Source: BTCUSD Tradingview