Brock Pierce was previously a child actor but is now an active crypto whale
Brock Pierce, a former child actor who has now become a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocate, has announced his intentions to run for the US presidency. His main rallying cry is to use cryptocurrency to “enhance institutions and improve lives”.
His decision to join the 2020 election follows rapper Kanye West’s announcement to join the presidential elections as well.
Pierce posted a video on Youtube announcing his independent presidential bid, emphasising the importance of implementing technologies in the modern world.
“If our government was using 21st-century technology, all of those stimulus and unemployment checks would have been received by the people in need much sooner,” Pierce said.
As part of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that President Trump signed into effect in March, the Internal Revenue Services has sent out over 160 million stimulus checks to Americans — most of which have been distributed by direct deposit and paper check.
This sudden move to distribute financial aid to citizens as a response to the economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about calls for an overhaul of the legacy financial system. Recently, Congress proposed the digitalisation of the US Dollar.
While these proposals have failed to win widespread support so far, lawmakers continue to make the case for reform over fears that failure to do so would cost the dollar its place as the world’s reserve currency.
Last week, Senator Tom Cotton informed the Senate Banking Committee that the US Dollar needs to remain competitive in the global payments system.
“The US dollar has to keep earning that place in the global payments system. It has to be better than Bitcoin… it has to be better than a digital yuan.” Senator Cotton said, referring to China’s own efforts at digitalising its currency.
“Technology is a solution we should be proactively using. What’s served us in the past will not serve us in the future.” Pierce explained in his campaign launch video.
Formerly a child actor, Pierce has become an active member of the crypto industry and his crypto net worth is estimated to be between $700 million and $1 billion back in 2018. He has funded several cryptocurrency companies, including Coinbase, Block.one and Blockchain Capital.
Pierce is also the co-founder of the stablecoin Tether, which CoinMarketCap’s data places as the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by value.