Presidential candidate Rand Paul describes himself as a politician who bridges old ideas and new technology, and he sought to get that message across at a fundraising get-together with Bitcoin enthusiasts this week.
"I'm not an expert on Bitcoin, but I'm open to new technology," Paul told a small but intent crowd of mostly twenty- and thirty-somethings at the Union League Club in New York on Sunday. "To me it's intriguing to actually eliminate cost somehow in the transfer of money and buying things."
His backdrop was a room steeped in the history of the Republican Party, including portraits of a mutton-chopped Chester A. Arthur, bushy-bearded Rutherford B. Hayes and other, more recent Republican presidents. Yet there were modern wrinkles, like the banner displayed behind Paul of the logos of Bitcoin-based companies.
The Kentucky senator, one of a large field of candidates chasing the GOP nomination, said that he became more interested in the technology behind the cryptocurrency after reading Netscape co-founder and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen's take on the payments potential for digital currencies and blockchains.
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http://www.americanbanker.com/news/bank-technology/rand-paul-chides-naysayers-who-want-to-regulate-bitcoin-1073906-1.html
