Crypto-friendly Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday night gave their full support to Vice President Harris and urged her campaign to seek a “reset” with the cryptocurrency industry amid growing discontent with the Biden administration.
More than a dozen Democratic senators and candidates spoke at the Crypto4Harris town hall, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).
The fundraising conference call also featured industry leaders such as billionaire investor Mark Cuban and Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Innovation Council.
“There is tremendous enthusiasm for Harris-Waltz from all corners of the country,” Schumer said Wednesday. “You can feel it, you can see it, you can smell it. There’s a lot of excitement from Democrats and from the American people at large who are concerned about the emergence of Donald Trump.”
“Why are we here today? It’s because we all support Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as our next president and believe in the future of cryptocurrency,” the Senate Majority Leader said, also announcing his goal of passing a cryptocurrency bill by the end of the year.
Since President Biden left office and endorsed Harris, crypto advocates have been hoping the vice president would reverse course on digital assets.
The Biden administration has a rocky relationship with the securities industry, which has often expressed frustration with Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler’s enforcement methods.
But the White House has been reaching out to the industry recently, with several senior officials participating in a conference call with about a dozen crypto industry leaders last week.
The Harris campaign has also begun discussions with the cryptocurrency industry, raising hopes of a crypto “reset,” an idea highlighted by multiple speakers at a town hall on Wednesday.
“Today’s conversation marks the beginning of a reset for the Harris campaign and, more broadly, for U.S. leadership on digital assets and cryptocurrencies,” said Dante Disparte, chief strategy and international policy officer at crypto firm Circle.
“I continue to advocate for a critical reset in her campaign,” Rep. Wiley Nickels (R-North Carolina) said, adding, “Vice President Harris’ fresh perspective and revitalized leadership are already connecting with online communities and young voters in new ways, and I’m excited about it.”
Harris’ call for a “reset” comes as Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are increasingly supportive of cryptocurrencies. Last month, Trump delivered a keynote speech at the Bitcoin Conference where he unveiled an entire platform dedicated to the digital asset.
“I have a plan for America to be the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world,” the former president said at Nashville’s Bitcoin 2024. “If cryptocurrencies define the future, I want them to be mined, minted and manufactured in America.”
However, Nickel on Wednesday questioned Trump’s approach to cryptocurrencies, noting that the former president once called cryptocurrencies a “scam.”
“Donald Trump is the only candidate running for president who has called cryptocurrency a scam,” the North Carolina Democrat said. “In his four years as president, he has done nothing and until recently was openly hostile toward it.”
“I say this with great respect from the main stage in Nashville, but Donald Trump is a total liar,” Nickel added.
