Joe Biden reveals how much Bitcoin he owns

Hackers said they would send Bitcoin back from Joe Biden’s Twitter account. Turns out, he doesn’t have any.

By Alexander Behrens

Jul 19, 2020

3 min read

Joe Biden has revealed that he holds no Bitcoin. Image: Shutterstock

In brief

Joe Biden revealed via Twitter that he holds no Bitcoin.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee fell victim to a large scale hack on dozens of high profile Twitter accounts the day before.
Both sides of the aisle have had things to say about digital currencies like Bitcoin.

The Biden campaign was caught up in the recent Twitter hack, and it led to Joe Biden disclosing how much Bitcoin he has. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any Bitcoin to send your way.

Biden revealed the fact in a tweet on Thursday, cleaning up the mess left behind by the Twitter hack that had compromised 130 high profile accounts the day before. The attack took control of dozens of accounts, including those of former US President Barack Obama and the official Apple account.

I don’t have Bitcoin, and I’ll never ask you to send me any.

But if you want to chip in to help make Donald Trump a one-term President, you can do that here: https://t.co/8XtBjuU5fX

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 16, 2020

The hackers used the accounts to promote a fraudulent Bitcoin-related initiative that enticed unsuspecting users to send Bitcoin to addresses controlled by the hackers. Approximately $120,000 in Bitcoin was sent to scam addresses before Twitter managed to wrestle back control of the accounts.

Biden’s Bitcoin clarification tweet also included a link to the campaign’s donation page. True to his word, the campaign only accepts donations in USD, disappointing any Bitcoin-donating hopefuls.

Other prominent Twitter users outside the cryptosphere have discussed their Bitcoin holdings in the past. Elon Musk, another victim of Wednesday’s hack, earlier this year revealed the size of his modest holding (around $2,500), while tech entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Mark Cuban discussed his small accumulation in a recent podcast (~$130).

Other Democratic candidates have had more to say about the digital gold. In June 2018, former democratic candidate Andrew Yang said he thought blockchain technology had “a wealth of potential.” His campaign accepted Bitcoin donations.

HUGE news - my campaign can now accept Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies! https://t.co/GScyqfZXLY Let’s build the future together. @Steven_McKie @JulianSarokin @yidagao @AdamDraper @mashadrokova @albertwenger @novogratz @ericbahn @RamanFrey @richardtitus

— Andrew Yang🧢🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) July 24, 2018

Notably, Yang has had Bitcoin on his radar since at least 2013, when he tweeted about a price crash to under $600.

Position on bitcoin?

— șean (@SeanMun) June 19, 2018

President Trump tweeted about Bitcoin and other digital assets last year, pointing to the potential to facilitate unlawful behavior and calling out Facebook’s Libra as an attempt to circumvent US banking regulations.

I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019

As the COVID19 pandemic continues to sweep through the US, digital payments are slated to become a growing part of everyday life. Both candidates may be forced to rethink their positions on what makes a currency, and how crypto assets will impact the digital economy.

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