Jeff Sika, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments, responded to President Trump's support for Bitcoin at the world's largest cryptocurrency conference, Varney & Co., in Nashville.
If the goal of the “Crypto For Harris” campaign effort on Wednesday evening was to convince a skeptical digital asset industry that a Kamala Harris presidency was worth supporting, it had little effect.
That was my take after listening to a number of crypto enthusiasts who gathered for a roughly 90-minute virtual town hall featuring notable Democratic figures, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Rep. Adam Schiff of California, as well as a very brief appearance by tech billionaire Mark Cuban.
Of my 100+ answers X Post When viewers of the call were asked for feedback, the overwhelming majority of respondents said they were neither impressed nor convinced that Harris would support the so-called “crypto reset” that Democratic politicians and industry leaders have been encouraging her to do — primarily because Harris herself has yet to publicly reveal how she feels about cryptocurrencies.
Vice President Kamala Harris addresses members of the American Federation of Teachers at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The big question from the event isn't who was there, but who wasn't. Conspicuous by her absence, Harris herself and her campaign staff were quickly pointed out by viewers who wanted to know more about the vice presidential candidate's crypto policy, including whether she would eschew the regulatory offensive she tacitly supported as Joe Biden's vice president, or whether she would replace the administration's crypto policy chief, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler (as industry leaders have called for).
The heated comments from the virtual meeting seemed to signal that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had reached out early in his campaign, promising to ease regulation and fire Gensler, scoring a major win for the $2 trillion cryptocurrency industry.
Still, the livestream, which organizers said boasted more than 1,000 viewers, wasn't all bad for Harris and the Democratic Party. In fact, some parts were well received, while others were criticized. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let's start with the good.
Chuck Schumer, one of the Democratic Party's top leaders and influential voices, appears to have turned to cryptocurrencies. In a prepared speech, Schumer expressed his intention to pass a sensible cryptocurrency bill in the Senate and into law by the end of the year, and asserted that cryptocurrencies are “here to stay, no matter what.”
“When it comes to crypto, I believe we need to strike a balance between encouraging innovation and providing common sense guardrails,” he said. “We can't afford to sit on the sidelines, because if we do that, we risk crypto being funneled to countries with the lowest standards of regulation, and doing nothing allows extremists to win.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 11: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters after a classified briefing for all senators on artificial intelligence at the U.S. Capitol on July 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. The briefing included: (Drew Ungerer/Getty Images/Getty Images)
He spoke out about the importance of lawmakers from both parties working together to advance the nascent crypto and AI industries, and criticized his colleagues in Congress for building their political brands around “creating spectacle and sensationalism” instead of passing legislation (some viewers speculated this was a direct aim at crypto skeptic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts).
Introduced by Mark Cuban on the conference call, Schumer used his brief one-minute appearance to criticize the Republican Party's intentions on cryptocurrency, saying the GOP “just doesn't care” about it and “just wants to see Bitcoin's biggest backers get even richer.”
Having Chuck Schumer on your side is never a bad thing for cryptocurrencies, and it's good that he showed up.
Other fans of the event told me that it had a “great energy” and “restored the optimistic side of tech” and “gave hope for a future that makes cryptocurrency a bipartisan issue.”
The organising team, which included four industry figures on the conference call, also seemed pleased with the outcome but acknowledged that the event was only a first step forward.
“The organizing team is incredibly proud of the broad coalition of industry leaders and elected officials that came together last night,” said Jonathan Padilla, organizer of Crypto For Harris. “That said, Crypto For Harris is just getting started, and we need to address criticism from some members of the crypto community head-on and work to get more action and more tangible progress.”
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, on August 11, 2024, returning to Washington, DC. (Julia Nickinson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The most obviously “bad” part of the call, according to viewers, was the lack of insight into how Harris herself views digital assets or how she specifically plans to repair relations with an industry that she feels is under attack from the administration she is in. As noted above, Harris has yet to say anything publicly about digital assets.
“We were interested to hear from Harris on her crypto policy and hoped the Democrats would discuss how to address the crypto issue,” Custody Bank CEO Caitlin Long said. “We're still waiting to hear back.”
“I still don't know who Kamala Harris is or what she thinks about our industry,” another viewer said.
Some were disappointed with the format of the event.
“I thought the town hall would be about listening to people on the street,” said Jake Broekman, founder and CEO of crypto investment firm Coinfund. “Instead, it ended up being a couple of lectures on people's views on crypto and where it should go politically.”
Others were disappointed that lawmakers didn't address the hostile treatment the industry has received under Gensler and the SEC, calling it an “issue that was ignored.”Frustration was also expressed over the pre-recorded video messages sent by Gillibrand, Schiff and others, which some viewers said “devalued” the event and made their appeal to voters seem less authentic.
The “ugly” part was best expressed by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss:
“Pre-recorded video. Reading from a script. Harris did not show up to her own event. What a clown show,” Tyler Winklevoss tweeted, while his brother pointed out that several scheduled guest speakers did not show up.
Entrepreneurs Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) to celebrate the opening of the exhibit “Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology” on May 2, 2016 in Manhattan, New York City. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson/Reuters Photo)
The Winklevoss twins, who run the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, a victim of Gensler's tightening of regulation, have voiced their support for Republican candidate Donald Trump and show no signs of changing their minds anytime soon.
Even worse, former Messari CEO Ryan Selkis slammed the event as “pathetic,” saying that “no one said anything substantive in this hour-long ramblings.”
Oh well.
Bottom line: Many viewers said they will remain skeptical of Democrats' assurances that Harris will “reset” the crypto industry until evidence comes in. The town hall had some good points, but ultimately provided little evidence.
“It will be key for Harris to clearly articulate her position and actions on this issue,” said Austin Campbell, founder of crypto consulting firm ZeroKnowledge. “Without a clear statement, the null hypothesis is that the SEC will be faced with further disaster.” [Operation Chokepoint] Unfortunately it's 2.0.”
Harris is expected to unveil parts of her long-term economic plan in a campaign speech on Friday.
