Ron Paul started talking about the serious problems of the Federal Reserve system in the 1970s. In his words, the ability to control the supply of money was “throughout history, the most sought-after monopolistic power of man” (below). He was generally greeted by the sound of crickets, both by fellow politicians and practically everyone else.
For an unfathomable reason, Paul was re-elected to U.S. Congress over and over again for the next 40 years, all the while speaking out against the Fed and its monetary practices of inflation, fractional-reserve lending, bailouts and “foreign aid.” There was no aspect of the dollar's nefarious doings that Paul didn't decry to anyone who would listen.
Like most in Austrian economics (the economic school of thought Paul espouses), he saw the remedy to Fed-caused depressions and recessions as precious metals — a return to gold and silver currencies. “End the Fed” became both a mantra and a best-selling book title released by Paul during his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
But Paul's political career did not result in the legal abolition of the Fed. Not even close. Not by a long shot. But it did leave a large portion of an entire generation hungry for a new money — an alternative currency — as a way to, as some put it, “Ignore the Fed.”
And then it came: Bitcoin.
Paul was first asked about his views on Bitcoin in early 2013. He was generally unfamiliar with blockchain technology, and famously said, “If I can't put it in my pocket, I have reservations.” But unlike so many Luddites, Paul didn't dismiss Bitcoin for good. He just held back from making decisive statements. (In other words, he did what intelligent people do when they know they're under-informed about something.)
Many of Paul's supporters took his reticence about Bitcoin as a signal to return to their go-gold-or-go-home stance. Others said that Paul would come around eventually, once he'd gotten an education in cryptocurrency.
It now seems that the latter were correct.
Voices of Liberty (formerly the Ron Paul Channel) recently released the interview below, which features Paul and a representative from Coin.mx bantering about crypto. The interview is actually a three-part series, and Paul reveals himself as having done a great deal of Bitcoin homework between 2013 and now.
This interview series marks a serious shift in the “sound money” movement that Ron Paul is largely responsible for. Though he lobbied unsuccessfully to “end the Fed” for decades, it would seem that his personal economic beliefs were proven true in the end: governments don't solve problems. Markets do.