Pete Buttigieg Was Silicon Valley's Favorite

Unlike Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders insisting that as President they'll "Break up Facebook," Buttigieg appeared all too keen to implicate the little guys in issues surrounding data privacy along with the major players.

In a July interview with Recode's Kara Swisher, Buttigieg took the time to tell listeners that Cambridge Analytica was not considered a "Massive player" when it used millions of non-consenting Facebook users' data to influence the 2016 presidential election.

This stance makes sense in the context of Buttigieg's many Silicon Valley supporters.

Silicon Valley influence existed within Buttigieg's campaign, too.

"I think he is very focused on courting Silicon Valley." Though Buttigieg hasn't publicly addressed cryptocurrency, a spokesperson from his campaign told me he understands where traditional banks have failed to serve the poor, both at home and abroad. Done right, Buttigieg believes, some cryptocurrencies could help those typically excluded from the system gain access to banking services, such as allowing them to send micropayments.

Along with his fellow democratic candidates, Buttigieg noted tech platforms' past follies - to put it lightly, as Buttigieg often does.

To combat this, said Buttigieg in a statement provided by a Pete for America spokesperson, he planned to work with Congress to "Pass a comprehensive federal privacy bill that protects users and prohibits companies from exploiting data to the detriment of users." More specifically, he planned for data collectors to adhere to obligations similar to those "Doctors and lawyers have to their clients," which would mean they'd have to abide by a high degree of confidentiality unless otherwise agreed upon.

"Beijing seems committed to consolidating and legitimizing authoritarian capitalism," Buttigieg told the Council on Foreign Relations in July, pitting it against "The democratic capitalism embraced by the United States." Wary of Chinese authoritarianism and how the country is outpacing the U.S. in advancing new tech, Buttigieg likely saw China's embrace of blockchain in issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency as a considerable threat.

As far as Buttigieg was concerned, the threat lies in China speeding ahead of the U.S. If the U.S. could come out with its own digital currency, that's something Mayor Pete might get behind.

"My instinctual feelings about Pete Buttigieg today are very similar to my feelings about bitcoin circa 2015," Chickering said.