With Election Day in the United States fast approaching and many citizens already casting their votes, social media platforms are flooded with misinformation regarding the candidates’ policies. Michael Saylor, the executive chairman of MicroStrategy, appears to have been misled by a post on social media that contained false information about Donald Trump’s stance on cryptocurrency taxation.
On October 30, Saylor shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) to his audience of over 3.6 million followers, attributing to Trump a statement claiming that cryptocurrency should not be taxed and that “Bitcoin is money.”
An investigation by Cointelegraph traced the origin of this misleading quote back to the X account Basedkarbon, which had asserted in a post on October 28 that the Republican candidate made these comments during “a recent interview.”
The misinformation in the X post was subsequently amplified by Good Morning Crypto, which shared the quotes with its 26,000 followers on October 29. Saylor’s post on October 30 led to further dissemination by other prominent accounts on X, including Kraken and Bitcoin Archive, who treated the claims as factual.
In a post on October 30, Basedkarbon commented on Saylor’s tweet, stating, “No taxes on crypto is a microcosm example of how information works. The only reason things are true is because someone says something is true. The entire world is just people saying things and making them true.”
Cointelegraph reached out to both Saylor and the Trump campaign for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
In the past week, Trump participated in two significant interviews, one with podcaster Joe Rogan and another with Sean Hannity on Fox News. While the Republican candidate mentioned the possibility of abolishing federal income tax during Rogan’s podcast, he did not address the topic of digital assets.
Will Election Day Change the Game?
Given the structure of the US Electoral College, the outcome of the presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris could hinge on just a few thousand votes in key battleground states such as Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Both candidates have indicated their support for the cryptocurrency sector if elected, but certain voters may be influenced by whichever candidate presents more favorable policies.
“I think it’s certainly possible that you could have single-issue voters who are particularly concerned about inflation and the economy, viewing crypto as a potential solution, and thus allowing it to affect their voting decisions,” said Craig Salm, chief legal officer of Grayscale, in a conversation with Cointelegraph on October 28. “Considering that crypto can act as a hedge against inflation and serve as a store of value, it’s not surprising that many voters are turning to cryptocurrency now, especially in light of the primary issues they are facing.”
During his presidency, Trump characterized Bitcoin (BTC) as something based on “thin air,” later describing the cryptocurrency as a “scam.” However, during his 2024 campaign, he has claimed to have revised his views on digital assets by speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, launching a collection of non-fungible tokens, and advocating for Bitcoin miners.