Pro-crypto Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has dropped out of the United States presidential election race, ending his nearly year-long campaign.
Speaking at a Jan. 16 press conference in Des Moines, Iowa, Ramaswamy told his followers that he would no longer be running for president, stating: “As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign.”
“There’s no path for me to be the next president absent things that we don’t want to see happen in this country.”
Live from Des Moines, IA | Vivek 2024 Caucus Night Press Conference https://t.co/ykH9wRlSKL
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 16, 2024
“There needs to be an America first candidate in this race,” Ramaswamy added, saying that he would be throwing his weight behind former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
“Going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency. We did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight.”
Ramaswamy emerged on the presidential campaign circuit as a relatively unknown candidate, but he quickly garnered a following from the crypto community for his outspoken policy proposals concerning Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Ramaswamy was the only presidential candidate to introduce a crypto policy framework. On Nov. 16, he unveiled the “The Three Freedoms of Crypto,” which promised to exempt crypto developers from being held liable for the actions of people who use their code.
Related: Vivek Ramaswamy: Grayscale win ‘clears a path’ for Bitcoin innovation
Additionally, he said the policy outline would provide clear regulatory guidelines for new cryptocurrencies and prevent any federal agency from creating rules that limited the use of self-hosted wallets.
On Dec. 6, 2023, Ramaswamy came down hard on the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its Chair, Gary Gensler, for failing to keep up with crypto regulation. He added that it was “nothing short of embarrassing” that Gensler couldn’t admit before Congress that Ether (ETH) should be considered a commodity.
Members of the crypto community were quick to pay their respects to the former candidate, with Nic Carter, a general partner at Castle Island Ventures, lauding Ramaswamy as the “most talented” Republican candidate in a generation.
Vivek is the most talented new Republican face in a generation. I hope we see more of him
— nic carter (@nic__carter) January 16, 2024
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