Influential technology entrepreneur and crypto-enthusiast Elon Musk declared this weekend that he supported the Andrew Yang for President campaign for the 2020 US election.

Musk, the chief executive of electric car manufacturer Tesla, responded to a Twitter post by Yang that was quoted on Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Twitter feed. He simply said: “I support Yang.”

Yang2020

A law school graduate, Yang, 44, established the not-for-profit Venture for America organization in 2011 to “create economic opportunity in American cities by mobilizing the next generation of entrepreneurs”, recruiting college graduates into a two-year fellowship programme.

Yang filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in November 2017 to run for the Presidency in 2020 and by March this year his campaign met the polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for the first round of Democratic primary debates.

He is the only candidate to accept cryptocurrency donations for his campaign expenses, and seen as a crypto-friendly candidate, calling for clear regulations so that the industry can thrive in the US.

His policy announcement on the subject says:

Investment in cryptocurrencies and digital assets has far outpaced our regulatory frameworks in the US. We should let investors, companies, and individuals know what the landscape and treatment will be moving forward to support innovation and development. The blockchain has vast potential.

Musk’s Crypto Credentials

While he has yet to declare a specific investment in cryptocurrencies, Musk’s enthusiasm for digital assets is becoming more apparent from his Tweets and interview responses.

Speaking earlier this year on a podcast interview with Ark Invest, Musk said: “The bitcoin structure is quite brilliant.” He added:

Paper money is going away and crypto is a far better way of transfer value than pieces of paper. That's for sure.

Meanwhile, back in April when Musk Tweeted that dogecoin “might be” his favorite cryptocurrency, the value of the altcoin jumped by 27%.

Political Ambivalence

To what extent Musk supports Yang, however, remains moot. Musk has previously declared himself to be half Democrat, half Republican – “socially liberal but fiscally conservative”.

He is certainly more generous with his financial donations to Republican causes. Last summer, the Huffington Post analysed political contributions data from the FEC to discover Musk donated nearly seven times more money to Republican campaigns than to Democratic Party ones.

Nevertheless, Musk’s Tweet of support for Yang was met with a welcome response from the Democratic candidate. Yang replied:

Thank you Elon – this means a great deal. Congrats on building the future.