Democrats speaking at the Crypto4Harris town hall meeting on Wednesday evening appeared united their belief that more regulation for the crypto industry was the need of the hour. Exactly how that regulation would look remains unclear, however.
The event, organized by the group known as Crypto4Harris, was aimed at increasing support from the crypto industry for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in the Presidential election.
Some of the notable speakers included U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC), SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci, and billionaire investor Mark Cuban.
Congress has a responsibility to implement “sensible” regulations that ensure the technology’s growth while safeguarding consumers, said Schumer.
“Crypto is here to stay, no matter what, so Congress must get it right,” Schumer said.
Governor Polis said Colorado is exploring ways to integrate blockchain more deeply into state functions, although the state already accepts crypto for taxes, DMV fees, and hunting licenses. He also stressed the importance of crypto regulation, referring to the Mt. Gox and FTX bankruptcies as examples that reinforced the need for it.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said that it was the Democrats in the Senate that were serious about getting something done, highlighting the FIT21 crypto bill that would empower the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to oversee digital assets classified as commodities.
A host of others representing Harris’ bid for the Oval Office also echoed those sentiments, with a push for more crypto regulation emerging as the overarching theme of most discussions.
North Carolina’s Nickel noted that “there’s only one candidate running for president who’s called crypto a scam, and that’s Donald Trump.”
While the event was aimed at building support for Harris within the crypto community, some attendees were left disappointed.
Comments from highly anticipated speakers such as Mark Cuban were centered around taking aim at “Bitcoin Maxis,” while Anthony Scaramucci’s appearance was a short-lived 60 seconds.
A bigger issue for crypto proponents that tuned in were the hot-button issues that weren’t brought up through the course of the discussion. Those include Operation Choke Point 2.0 — the alleged coordinated efforts to cut the crypto industry off from the banking sector — and the rights to self-custody given the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crackdown on wallet providers.
Notably, Harris herself has yet to make her official stance on crypto clear to the public. However, two of her picks for economic advisor roles have stirred up the crypto community, with some industry watchers noting that they “will keep Biden’s hostile attitude to crypto.”
Trump, on the other hand, has stated outright that he intends to push for the US to be the “crypto capital of the planet,” and has all but cemented himself as the crypto industry’s choice for President. Regardless of his comments in the past, Trump won over audiences at the Bitcoin 2024 conference when he vowed to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler the day he assumes office.
“Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and un-American crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a central-bank digital currency,” the Republican Party said in a 2024 platform document. “We will defend the right to mine bitcoin and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their digital assets, and transact free from government surveillance and control.”
August 15, 6:14 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include more information on the speakers’ titles.
