Bitcoin was not a major topic at this week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC). None of the event’s speakers uttered a word about the electronic cash system or other cryptoassets from the event’s main stage at Chicago’s United Center. And it would have been hard to hear a conversation about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies anywhere in the stadium’s hallways.
However, despite the fact that Democrats chose not to list Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies on its official platformSome senior Democrats said this week that a Harris administration would be more pro-Bitcoin and pro-cryptocurrency than the Biden administration, though without offering specifics. Additionally, at satellite events for the conference, some Democrats spoke passionately about why their party should embrace Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Congressman Wiley Nickel (D-NC), A Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency AdvocateHe discussed the idea that the Harris administration will take a different approach to the cryptocurrency industry than the Biden administration.
“Vice President Harris has been working for and as part of the Biden-Harris administration, but now she comes to this campaign with her own positions on the issues,” Rep. Nickel explained to Bitcoin Magazine in an interview at the convention.
“A lot has happened in the last few weeks, so he is just now starting to make his policy positions known. It’s not going to be an immediate process where he says things he would do differently than President Biden, but he will have different positions on issues and he will make them known,” he added.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported Vice President Harris will introduce policies to support the cryptocurrency industry if elected, according to her senior campaign policy adviser, who spoke at a Bloomberg News roundtable at the convention.
The article referred to how Harris plans to engage with the cryptocurrency industry, though again it offered no specifics on how she plans to do so. It also quoted Harris as saying she planned to “cut unnecessary bureaucracy and unnecessary regulatory red tape” while encouraging “innovative technologies” by offering “transparent rules of the game,” though none of Harris’ quotes in the article included direct references to Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.
Rep. Nickel also did not offer specifics on what Harris' policy might look like, saying he did not want to speak on Harris' behalf, but noted the success of the Crypto4Harris Town Hallan event held on Wednesday, August 15, which featured Democratic lawmakers including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), as well as billionaire cryptocurrency enthusiast Mark Cuban, who shared that there is “a real sense of momentum among Democrats on the issue.”
Rep. Nickel also asked Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts to heed a warning.
“The anti-cryptocurrency names you hear are just made up by people who are trying to hurt his campaign,” Rep. Nickel said of rumors Harris bringing in people like Brian Reese and Bharat Ramamurti, economic advisers to the Biden administration who were behind Operation Chokepoint 2.0back to the fold.
“I don’t give any credence to the strange names that are being floated for top jobs. I heard that Gary Gensler is the Treasury nominee. I can tell you that there is no chance that he can be confirmed by the Senate,” he added.
“That’s not going to happen.”
Pro-Bitcoin and pro-cryptocurrency Democrats speak at satellite events
At an event held at a University of Chicago facility, Cleve MesidorExecutive Director of The Blockchain Foundation and former Obama appointee who served as Director of Public Affairs at the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), spoke on a panel titled “The Democrats' Path Forward on Digital Assets and Cryptocurrency.”
TODAY: I'll be speaking in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention!
I am excited to be part of this panel organized by @CameraOfProgress & @NegociosAdelantewhich also includes:@RepWileyNickel | @clydevanel | @JBSDC @paradigm| @KyleBligen
= The Way Forward for Democrats on Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies = photo.twitter.com/WIYggp1V9o
— Cleve Mesidor (@cmesi) August 21, 2024
Mesidor shared his perspective on the importance of cryptocurrencies, which differed markedly from the perspectives of notoriously anti-cryptocurrency Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.).
“Senator Liz Warren and Congressman Brad Sherman are stuck in time,” Mesidor said on the panel.
“They are so intent on fighting big money, so focused on attacking the big fish, that their blind spot is the fact that communities of color are the biggest adopters of cryptocurrencies. Black and Latino communities are leading the national adoption of this $2 trillion market,” he added.
“Let’s be clear: consumer protection is important, we need guardrails. But if it’s not coupled with financial inclusion, you’re simply telling all the communities that profited from Bitcoin over the last 15 years, that did something with it, that created blockchain-based products and services, that you’re going to continue to support policies to make sure they can’t continue to participate.”
Mesidor, who is Latina, spoke with emotion as she feels Democrats are overlooking one of the main narratives around Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. At the same time, she acknowledged why they might be concerned about looking favorably on the cryptocurrency industry.
“Democrats have PTSD,” he told me in an interview after the panel.
“They have PTSD because decades ago predatory lenders, as we call them today, came to them and said we were going to democratize finance. The Internet was supposed to democratize us, right? It was supposed to be decentralized. And today, big tech companies are not diverse,” he added.
New York Assemblyman Clyde Vanel (D), a lawmaker who sits on the New York State Legislative Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus, was also on the panel.
Vanel recalled that he first encountered cryptocurrencies in the mid-2010s and was impressed by how they catalyzed an increase in financial literacy among inner-city youth.
“I went to different high schools and there were high school students (who owned crypto) who were using the same muscles as experienced investors, watching the markets,” Vanel said.
“There was a convenience store in my neighborhood that had a Bitcoin ATM. I went to the store and saw a line of young people buying different denominations of Bitcoin. It was amazing,” he added.
Vanel was not only happy to see his constituents buying bitcoins for the financial benefits they could have gained by investing in them, but because blockchain technology also offers members of his community an alternative to the traditional financial system, which some (including his own father) do not trust.
“My father never used a bank, he never trusted a bank,” Vanel said. “He used check-cashing places.”
Vanel also addressed the remittance payment use case for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
“When I was sending money to another country, I was spending a lot of money to do it,” Vanel said, still talking about his father. “What does it mean to make sure we make it easy for people like him to transfer value?”
Since Vanel understands the benefits of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies well, he is happy to see that Democrats are starting to accept it.
“I am very excited that this event is taking place on the heels of this campaign to showcase the importance of financial inclusion (through) digital technology,” Vanel said. “Ten years ago, this would not have happened at the National Convention.”
Not far from the event where Mesidor and Vanel spoke, an event took place entitled CryptoDNC An event was held with the participation of Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL) and the aforementioned Wiley Nickel.
🎉New speaker announcement!
We are pleased to have @RepBillFoster as a featured speaker during our event next Wednesday in Chicago during 2024 @DemocraticConvention
Be sure to RSVP now to secure your spot!
Record: https://t.co/mJzVzchfx2
Or sign up below 👇👇 image.twitter.com/V9lnPlgmox
— CryptoDNC (@crypto_dnc) August 16, 2024
During a fireside chat at the event, Rep. Nickel shared that not embracing crypto technology would be like not embracing the Internet two and a half decades ago.
Are Democrats Serious?
Have Democrats really changed their tune regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies or are they simply pandering to single-issue voters who would otherwise vote for Trump because of his pro-crypto stance?
This is the question that seems to have lingered in the minds of most Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Part of the reason why many seem hesitant to trust the Democrats’ proposal to change the rules 180 degrees regarding cryptocurrencies may be due to the Biden administration’s support for SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s proposal. regulation by execution approach to the cryptocurrency industry over the past three and a half years.
Rep. Wiley Nickel appears to be making a serious push to get Democrats to “reset” their approach to cryptocurrencies, but is Harris really listening? And will people like Assemblymember Vanel and Ms. Meridor be able to raise their pro-crypto voices loudly enough to get the attention of a potential Harris administration?
We'll have to wait and see.
