Early Bitcoin investor and industry representative Chamath Palihapitiya has signaled a possible run for the position of governor of California.
Venture capital firm Social Capital’s CEO Chamath Palihapitiya appeared to announce his intentions in a tweet on Jan. 26. The post linked to its new website contained a number of promises for the US state, including massive tax cuts and increases in teacher salaries, an end to student loans and a newborn handout.
Palihapitiya appears to be gearing up for the 2022 gubernatorial race, or possibly a special election, though no details have been disclosed beyond its intentions to get involved in politics.
The billionaire businessman has also joined efforts to force a recall vote for current California governor Gavin Newsom, which would reportedly result in a special election later in 2021.
A growing number of Californians are unhappy with Newsom’s performance in this position, especially when it comes to inconsistent shutdowns and a slow roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines.
It’s on. #RecallGavinNewsom https://t.co/r8Cwd4szrn
– Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) January 26, 2021
Former Facebook executive Palihapitiya was an early investor in Bitcoin (he bought a million) and says he wants to maintain the state’s status as a technology leader:
“Let’s make California the global hub of all tech and climate jobs by realigning our incentives instead of pushing them away.”
In an interview on Jan. 7, he said that he sees Bitcoin as insurance against economic uncertainty and that its price could soar to $ 200,000 in the next five to ten years.
According to an April 2020 Forbes article, Palihapitiya bought Bitcoin in 2013 when the price was around $ 80 per coin and it claims that at one point it owned around 5% of the total Bitcoin supply.
Since President Biden took office on January 20, there have been a number of pro-crypto moves in US politics, including the appointment of former Ripple Advisory Board member Michael Barr as the next currency validator. In addition, the Biden administration has selected crypto-savvy Gary Gensler to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.
