Chamath Palihapitiya, an early bitcoin investor and former Facebook executive, has announced he is running for the position of California Governor on social media, tweeting out a link to a one-page website for his gubernatorial bid.
The website reads that “California is a mess” as it’s “too expensive, our teachers are underpaid, and our schools aren’t good enough.” The platform calls for the elimination of state tax, for teachers to have a $70,000 salary, and for a payment of $2,000 for each child born in the state, among other things.
The proposals, Bloomberg reports, emphasize keeping people and businesses in California, as a response to the state’s population declining for the first time since at least 1900.
The billionaire businessman has also joined a campaign to force a recall vote for the current California governor Gavin Newsom, which could lead to a special election later this year. Californians have reportedly been contributing to these efforts over anger about COVID-19 related restrictions and the slow distribution of vaccines.
Tech entrepreneurs, including Palihapitiya, are reportedly behind some of the donations that have helped support this effort. Palihapitiya’s campaign website suggests he is looking to maintain California’s status as a global technology hub.
Palihapitiya is known in the cryptocurrency space for being an early bitcoin investor, who reportedly bought the cryptocurrency back in 2013 when it was trading at around $80 per coin. As reported, the venture capitalist has said BTC is set to hit $200,000 over the next five to 10 years.
The investor has also joined GameStop’s Reddit-fueled rally by making a bullish bet on the firm’s stock price. As reported, SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci has said the rally is good for bitcoin as it exemplifies financial decentralization, furthering proof of the concept behind BTC.
Featured image via Pixabay.
