Former California Assembly majority leader Ian Calderon has announced his candidacy for governor in the 2026 election, centering his campaign on ambitious Bitcoin adoption policies. In a tweet on September 23, 2025, Calderon declared, "California has always been a leader on technology. It's time for us to get back to our roots and make California the undisputed leader on Bitcoin." He elaborated in a livestream that, if elected, he would ensure the state holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet and supports cryptocurrency payments for state programs.
Calderon, a Democrat who served three terms until 2020, has a track record in blockchain policy. He authored AB 2658 in 2018, which established California's Blockchain Working Group to evaluate the technology's implications. More recently, he collaborated with the Satoshi Action Fund in 2022 on a bill exploring Bitcoin as legal tender, though it saw little progress. Current state bills, AB 1180 and AB 1052, allow for stablecoin payment pilots and unclaimed crypto property rules but do not permit direct Bitcoin holdings by the state.
Robert Boris Mofrad, co-founder of Serenity, noted that Calderon's stance reflects crypto's entry into mainstream politics, calling the proposal "ambitious and daring" given California's status as the world's fifth-largest economy with a $4.3 trillion GDP. However, Calderon faces stiff competition in a crowded race, with polls showing former Congresswoman Katie Porter as the frontrunner.