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If the goal of Wednesday night’s “Crypto For Harris” campaign effort was to convince the skeptical digital asset industry that a Kamala Harris presidency is something they should support, it did little to move the needle.
That’s my take after listening to dozens of crypto enthusiasts who tuned in to the nearly 90-minute virtual town hall that featured a who’s who of Democratic lawmakers including the party’s chairman, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), California Congressman Adam Schiff, and even a very brief appearance from tech billionaire Mark Cuban.
Of the over a hundred responses to my message, X Post When viewers who tuned in to the call were asked about their reactions, the vast majority of respondents were not impressed or convinced that Harris would play a role in the so-called “crypto reset” that Democratic politicians and industry leaders are encouraging her to embrace. This is largely because Harris herself has yet to publicly express her feelings on encryption.
Vice President Kamala Harris addresses members of the American Federation of Teachers at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images/Getty Images)
One of the big issues at the event wasn’t who showed up, but who didn’t. Harris herself or any members of her campaign team were conspicuously absent, something that was quickly pointed out by viewers eager to learn more about the vice president’s potential crypto policy, including whether she would roll back the regulatory push she implicitly supported as Joe Biden’s vice president, or (as industry leaders have called) replace the cryptocurrency regulator’s chief, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.
The heated opinions around the virtual conference seemed to suggest that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had pulled off a coup with the $2 trillion crypto industry by reaching out early in the campaign, promising a lighter regulatory touch and removing Gensler.
However, the livestream, which organizers said drew more than 1,000 live viewers, wasn’t all bad news for Harris and Democrats. In fact, parts of it were well-received, while others were panned. Let’s review the good, the bad, and the ugly, starting with the good:
Chuck Schumer, one of the most prominent Democratic leaders and influential voices, appears to have turned to cryptocurrencies. In a prepared speech, Schumer announced his intention to pass sensible cryptocurrency legislation through the Senate and into law before the end of the year, declaring that cryptocurrencies “are here to stay no matter what.”
“I think we have to find a balance between encouraging innovation and providing common sense protections,” he said. “We can’t afford to continue sitting on the sidelines, because then we risk cryptocurrencies going to countries with the lowest common denominator where there will be no regulation at all, and if we don’t get anything done, the extremists will win.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – JULY 11: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters after a classified Senate briefing on artificial intelligence at the U.S. Capitol on July 11, 2023 in Washington, D.C. The briefing included members of (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Obama expressed his view that it is important for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to work together to advance the emerging crypto and AI industries, even criticizing his congressional colleagues (some viewers guessed he was directed at Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a staunch crypto skeptic) for building their political brands around “creating spectacle and excitement” rather than passing legislation.
Schumer was introduced on the call by Mark Cuban, who used his brief one-minute appearance to criticize Republican intentions surrounding cryptocurrencies, saying the party “doesn’t care” about them and just wants to “see Maxie Bitcoin get richer.”
It’s certainly not a bad thing for crypto to have Chuck Schumer on its side and I give him credit for his emergence.
Other fans of the event described the proceedings as “great energy,” “restoring the optimistic side of tech optimism,” and “giving hope for a future that makes crypto a nonpartisan issue.”
The organizing team, which was represented on the call by four industry members, also seemed happy with the outcome but admitted that the event was just a first step on the road to some progress.
“The organizing team was extremely proud of the broader coalition of industry leaders and elected officials who came together last night,” said Jonathan Padilla, organizer of Crypto For Harris. “However, Crypto For Harris has only just begun and is addressing criticism from some members of the crypto community head-on, and we need to work to get more action and more tangible progress.”
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two at San Francisco International Airport on August 11, 2024, in San Francisco, California, as she returns to Washington, D.C. (Julia Nickinson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
According to viewers, what seemed like the most “bad” part of the call was the lack of insight into how Harris herself views digital assets or how exactly she plans to mend fences with an industry that feels under attack from her own administration. As I’ve previously reported, Harris has said nothing publicly about digital assets.
“I was hoping to hear about Harris’s policy on crypto and how Democrats would handle the issue of de-banking cryptocurrencies,” said Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank. “I’m still waiting to hear about that.”
“I still don’t know who Kamala Harris is and what she thinks about our industry,” one viewer said.
Others expressed disappointment with the format of the event.
“I thought the town hall was meant to hear from people, you know, people in town,” said Jake Bruchman, founder and president of cryptocurrency investment firm CoinFund. “Instead, we got a few lectures about what participants think about crypto and where it should go politically.”
Others expressed disappointment that lawmakers did not address the hostile treatment the industry faced under Gensler and the SEC, calling it the “elephant in the room” that was not addressed. More complaints were made about the pre-recorded messages sent by Gillibrand, Schiff and others, which some viewers said “diluted” the event and made the speech to voters seem less sincere.
The “ugly” part was best expressed by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
“Pre-recorded videos. Reading from scripts. Harris did not show up to her own event. What a clown show,” Tyler Winklevoss I tweetedWhile his brother pointed out that some of the guest speakers who were scheduled to attend did not even 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 exhibition “Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology” in Manhattan, New York, May 2, 2016. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson/Reuters Photos)
The Winklevoss twins, whose cryptocurrency exchange Gemini was the victim of a regulatory crackdown by Gensler, have announced their support for Republican nominee Donald Trump, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be changing their minds anytime soon.
More ugliness: Former Messari CEO Ryan Selkis criticized the event as “pathetic,” adding, “There was not a single worthy speaker at that hour-long, disorganized event.”
wow!
Bottom line: Many viewers said they would remain skeptical of Democrats’ assertions that Harris would deliver a “reset” for the crypto industry until they saw evidence. And despite the positives of the meeting, it ultimately delivered little of that.
“The key will be for Harris to make clear where she stands and what action she will take on this issue,” said Austin Campbell, founder of crypto consulting firm Zero Knowledge. “If we can’t get a clear statement, the null hypothesis is more disaster for the SEC.” [Operation Chokepoint] 2.0, unfortunately.”
Harris is scheduled to lay out some of her long-term economic plan during a campaign speech on Friday.
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