Presidential contender Andrew Yang, is an American entrepreneur, politician, philanthropist, the founder of Venture for America (VFA), and a U.S. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. He worked in startups and early-stage growth companies as a founder or executive from 2000 to 2009. After he founded VFA, the Obama administration selected him in 2012 as a “Champion of Change” and in 2015 as a “Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship”. Andrew Yang would be only the second person of Asian descent to make it to a presidential debate with Republican Bobby Jindal being the first, in the year 2016.

In November 2017 Yang launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. His identifiable point raised is the support for what he calls the “Freedom Dividend”, a form or type of Universal Basic Income (UBI) for every American adult aged 18–64. Yang believes UBI is a necessary response to the rapid development of automation that is leading to workforce challenges.

In a very recent tweet, Andrew Yang stated,

“One thing that drives me nuts is when politicians or academics complain about historic and worsening income inequality and then suggest solutions that wouldn’t even move the needle. It’s obvious what would move the needle. Giving people $1,000 a month. Let’s do that.”

He took the centre stage at Consensus 2019, Wednesday, facing an energetic and appealing crowd as he discussed bitcoin, blockchain and his bid for the White House.

He joked about the existence of the YangCoin, and further essentially revealed himself as a sympathetic friend of the crypto community in an appearance that has come weeks after his campaign that issued a policy statement on digital asset regulation. He also opined on the declining influence of traditional media, the threat of climate change, his Freedom Dividend pitch, and current U.S. president Donald Trump.

Yang had promised “clear guidelines in the digital asset world so that businesses and individuals can invest and innovate in the area without fear of a regulatory shift,” He argued that the current framework in the U.S. is unclear and unfair to people working with the technology, saying: “If you’re a builder it’s just ‘look, tell me what the landscape’s going to look like and we’ll figure it out from there’ but no one knows what the landscape will look like.”

Yang also acknowledged the digital privacy concerns that motivate many crypto users. Speaking to the audience he said, “I’m sympathetic to members of the community who want to have more of these transactions occur in a non-monitored manner or context.”

Yang also offered airy, off the hook advice for crypto advocates. He said, “Don’t eat, sleep and breathe (crypto) too much! Every once in a while go on a hike.” that drew laughs from the jolly, energetic crowd.