Ted Cruz, the U.S. Republican senator from Texas, expressed his optimism on Friday, stating he’s “bullish on bitcoin,” after a recent interview with Forbes released on September 8. During the conversation, Cruz highlighted emerging reports indicating that bitcoin mining is positively impacting Texas’ power grid, commonly referred to as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Senator Cruz Celebrates Bitcoin’s Surge in Texas Energy
On Friday, Ted Cruz shared his most recent conversation with Forbes journalist Mickey Koss and expressed a keen enthusiasm for bitcoin (BTC).
“I’m bullish on Bitcoin,” Cruz broadcasted on the social network platform X (formerly known as Twitter). “Texas is the natural home for the digital asset industry since Texans love freedom and so do digital asset bulls. This innovation is already benefiting Texas’ economy and grid.”
Engaging with Koss, he shed light on the flourishing job market in the Lone Star State. “Texas is a hub for jobs, innovation, and freedom, and those things make it the natural oasis for the digital asset industry worldwide,” remarked the Texas senator.
This isn’t the first instance of Cruz’s bitcoin endorsement. In May 2022, he revealed a “weekly buy” strategy for his investment portfolio. Moreover, this past April, Cruz professed his admiration for bitcoin, emphasizing that he favors bitcoin “for the same reason the Chinese Communist government doesn’t like BTC.”
In February 2022, the public caught wind of Cruz’s BTC acquisitions when financial disclosures revealed a purchase approaching $50K. This week, conversing with Forbes, Cruz expounded on the synergy between bitcoin mining and the advantageous outcomes for ERCOT.
His remarks dovetail with the latest updates highlighting Riot Platforms’ assistance to ERCOT this August, helping meet energy demands by lowering the firm’s power consumption. He delved deeper into how some bitcoin mining endeavors can significantly reduce flare gas emissions by harnessing surplus energy for their operations.
“Half of the natural gas being flared in the U.S. is burned in West Texas because we don’t have the pipelines and necessary infrastructure to use it. This is wasted energy,” Cruz explained to Koss. However, his optimism doesn’t extend to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Cruz has proactively presented legislation to impede the U.S. Federal Reserve from rolling out a CBDC with surveillance capabilities. Contrary to bitcoin, CBDCs operate on centralized blockchains, enabling transaction monitoring and even the potential to freeze or seize funds — capabilities absent in decentralized crypto assets like bitcoin.
What do you think about Ted Cruz’s statements about bitcoin? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
