Cryptocurrencies

Thiel Protege Blake Masters Talks Up Crypto in Long-Shot Arizona Senate Bid

Blake Masters makes bid to replace U.S. Senator Mark Kelly
Masters endorsed by billionaire Peter Thiel in Arizona primary

Blake Masters, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona, poses for a photo with supporters Kurt Buckwald and Kevin Kortsen in Flagstaff on April 11, 2022.Source: Bloomberg

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By Gregory Korte

April 29, 2022 at 2:25 PM UTC

Updated on

April 29, 2022 at 4:24 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Blake Masters is using his Republican primary campaign for Arizona Senate to evangelize for cryptocurrency, calling it “the biggest innovation of the century so far” and vowing to fight regulatory efforts on digital currency.

“I’m genuinely a crypto enthusiast. I think it’s cool at the technological level,” he said after a campaign appearance in Flagstaff this month. In an interview, he talked about his latest crypto obsession, the NFTs he minted for his campaign, and how his belief in Bitcoin sprang out of his support for the gold standard-driven presidential campaign of Ron Paul.