Democrats Make Pitch For Crypto Voters. Will Crypto Listen?

When Donald Trump delivered his groundbreaking speech at the recent Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, it seemed that the Republican presidential candidate could secure crypto votes in the November election. However, with President Biden deciding not to run and Kamala Harris taking his place, some in the crypto community appear inclined to give Democrats another shot at crypto policymaking.

It could be.

Tonight, Crypto4Harris, a group of Democratic-leaning crypto advocates, is holding an online “town meeting” to discuss the path forward. “Meet crypto industry leaders, policy professionals, and enthusiasts organizing on behalf of the Harris for President campaign,” the invitation reads.

The confirmed list of speakers includes prominent figures from Congress and the crypto industry, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), businessman Mark Cuban, former White House communications director under President Trump and now CEO of Skybridge Capital Anthony Scaramucci, and high-profile crypto lobbyists like Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Innovation Council, and Justin Slaughter, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Paradigm.

Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long, who has every reason to distrust the Biden Administration given her own project’s regulatory woes, said she’ll be attending tonight’s meeting with an open mind. “I’ll be attending @Crypto4Harris tomorrow and hope… moderate Democrats end Biden/Warren’s crackdown on law-abiding #crypto companies,” she wrote on X/Twitter.

Those behind the organizing effort on behalf of the vice president say the goal is to encourage Harris to signal “openness and a willingness to start over” with the industry, CoinDesk’s Jesse Hamilton reported. Scaramucci, who is currently campaigning against his former boss, told Democrats they made a “terrible mistake” by not being more willing to set clear rules of the road for the crypto industry during the Biden Administration. Many in the group close to Harris have been badmouthing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a close ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has been the standard-bearer of anti-crypto sentiment in Congress.

Critics say the industry should pay more attention to Harris’ actions than her words. They note that two advisers on her team — Brian Deese and Bharat Ramamurti — are part of Biden’s National Economic Council and have been linked to anti-crypto policy initiatives, including efforts to bypass crypto companies’ banks under an informal policy known as “Operation Bottleneck 2.0,” critics say.

However, some note that Harris’ campaign also includes other advisors who have previously worked with crypto companies, such as David Plouffe (Binance) and Gene Sperling (Ripple).

Podcaster Brian Krassenstein, who has over 850,000 followers on X, is hosting a Harris and crypto-friendly Spaces right after the Crypto4Harris main event.

I believe Democrats should embrace crypto and Bitcoin as part of their platform.

Join us on Wednesday evening with our special guests and please share.

https://t.co/Wdv8by1zk9

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) August 12, 2024

“Personally, I think he’s going to hire new people when he starts his new administration. I don’t see him keeping Gensler, and I don’t see him keeping the advisors that Biden has,” Krassenstein said over X DMs. “I know that [Harris] “He’s been very open about listening to people in the crypto space.”