Brock Pierce Reveals Motivation Behind Surprise Presidential Bid

Crypto venture capitalist Brock Pierce has revealed his campaign to become the next U.S. president will focus on creating a country where technological innovation is allowed to flourish.

Pierce spoke at a Unitize conference fireside chat on July 7. He alluded to the fact that while he’s unlikely to win, the campaign will be a way to highlight the benefits of blockchain. A key theme will be building a better environment for innovators — particularly Millennials and those in Generation Z.

“The United States historically has been the capital of innovation, on the front lines of technologies like blockchain. I feel that this is not a great environment for innovators to build. I’m watching many of the best innovators in our nation moving to Asia, moving to Europe, moving to other places because they don’t feel safe to innovate and experiment.”

Pierce hopes to create a regulatory sandbox for blockchain startups, where they are not restricted to “extremely expensive licenses” for their first two years of operations. 

He said a President who is capable of understanding the current financial tools available could have already implemented important changes, such as issuing the Treasury Department’s $1,200 stimulus checks faster. Many Americans waited weeks or even months for relief funds. 

“We need people that understand what’s actually happening in the world right now. Those of us in this business on the front lines are actually designing the tools, creating the systems that are going to create the future that we’re all going to live in.”

Not running to win?

Pierce compared himself to former presidential candidate Ron Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for the top job three times, in the process helping to shine a light on several important financial processes in the United States. 

“This running for President will bring a lot of very important conversations to the forefront.”

Vote 1 snowball

In his daily newsletter, crypto analyst Mati Greenspan agreed the former child star had “a snowball's chance in the Mojave desert” of succeeding. But Greenspan believes the effort will be “good for Bitcoin” and push the topic into the national conversation.

Greenspan said that many believe that current U.S. President Donald Trump only ran for office as a publicity stunt to drum up business for his hotels and other ventures. Trump ultimately refused to cede financial control of his businesses — an apparent violation of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution — after he won. Pierce said he would put all his crypto holdings — a net worth estimated in the many hundreds of millions — into a blind trust in the event he was elected.

Pierce first announced his candidacy for U.S. President in a July 5 tweet, following hot on the heels of Kanye West. His campaign site states that he is a pioneer digital currency and has raised more than $5 billion for the companies he has founded.