The Libertarian Party in the United States made a unique choice for their presidential nominee following speeches given by Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the party’s convention over Memorial Day Weekend.
On May 26, delegates from the Libertarian Party selected Chase Oliver as their nominee for U.S. president, giving the third-largest political party in the country a recognizable face leading up to the November 2024 elections. At 38 years old, Oliver enters the presidential race with most U.S. citizens expected to vote for either President Joe Biden or Donald Trump, the presumptive nominees for their respective Democratic and Republican parties.
Oliver’s nomination came after Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party convention on May 25. Reports indicated that many attendees booed the former president and called him a “liar” and “panderer” for pretending to embody the party’s values. RFK Jr. also spoke at the convention on May 24 but was eliminated from consideration as a nominee after receiving only 2% of the vote.
Many members of the Libertarian Party have shown support for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC). The party’s platform states that individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should have the freedom to use any mutually agreeable commodity or item as money.
Although Oliver has publicly expressed his views on the economy and individual choice, Cointelegraph was unable to find his opinions on digital assets at the time of publication. The Libertarian nominee does support the release of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who is currently serving two life sentences for his involvement in launching and running the online marketplace.
Republican Corbin Sabol stated in a May 26 post that “Trump said he will put a Libertarian in his cabinet, protect crypto, prevent [a central bank digital currency], and commute Ross’ sentence. Yet that’s not good enough for Libertarians… they nominated Chase Oliver and probably won’t even get 3% this time.”
Oliver has also called for support to nominate Mike ter Maat as his running mate. The 63-year-old Portland native’s platform includes opposition to the Federal Reserve issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and advocating for the unregulated use of cryptocurrencies. He also supports prison time for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for defrauding customers.
Despite being the third-largest party in the United States, the Libertarian Party only received approximately 3% of the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election and is unlikely to win in 2024. However, due to the Electoral College system in many U.S. states, any third-party candidate could potentially influence the election by drawing votes away from President Biden or Trump.
With less than six months until U.S. Election Day on November 5, Trump has become increasingly vocal about cryptocurrencies. In May, he announced that he would accept campaign donations in digital assets and expressed a positive and open-minded attitude toward the technology. President Biden is also expected to encounter three crypto-focused bills before November that could sway some voters.
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