Reports that Bitcoin2024 organizers were “in talks” with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to have her speak at the conference this coming weekend in Nashville, Tennessee, surprised and excited the crypto community for a short time.
David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc., said late Tuesday that his company had been in touch with the campaign about attending the conference. He said that it would be a “smart” way to change how crypto supporters see the Democratic Party.
However, Bailey said in the morning of Wednesday that Harris would not be going to the conference and that she did not think the Biden-Harris administration was doing a good job with crypto.
Bailey wrote on X that Harris’s decision not to go was “no surprise.”
“What can she say to us when she’s jailing developers, sending our business overseas, and going after [proof of work]? It would have been terrible for her,” he wrote. “Now everyone is looking at Trump.”
Donald Trump, who was president before, and Robert Kennedy, Jr., who is running for president as an independent, are both set to speak at the conference.
A request for comment was sent to the Harris campaign, but they didn’t respond.
Supporters of crypto have long been unhappy with the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the currency. One big problem is that the SEC wants crypto issuers to register with them in the same way that public companies that issue stock do. The crypto industry says this is impossible to do.
Biden’s plan to put a 30% tax on cryptocurrency miners’ energy use is another complaint. Banks were also told to get out of the cryptocurrency business by Biden administration regulators, and cryptocurrency-mixing protocols that let users send bitcoin were punished.
BTCUSD -0.16% and other coins without being seen.
Still, some people in the crypto industry believe Harris still has time to change the idea that Democrats are generally against crypto.
“The Democratic Party and the Harris campaign need to open up to the crypto community more,” said Moe Vella, who used to be Vice President Joe Biden’s senior advisor and now works as a regulatory consultant for crypto projects like the asset-backed cryptocurrency Unicoin.
He said that there was no doubt that the Biden administration had “harmed” the reputation of the Democratic Party in the crypto community, but that it wasn’t “harmed beyond repair.”
He said Harris should get together with crypto industry leaders to hear their concerns and show her support for recent efforts in Congress to make the crypto industry more regulated. These include the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which was led by Republicans.
Vella said, “The bill was a step in the right direction.” “Was it the be-all and end-all for the industry and the government?” No, but you need to move forward and plan for the long term.
Vela said that reassuring the crypto industry that Harris would listen to their concerns would send a message to the business community as a whole that Harris will look out for their interests as well as those of workers and consumers.
“Harris is a practical, smart, and logical woman, and she understands this balance,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think the business-unfriendly side of the party, which is led by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont (who caucuses with Democrats) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, will have as much of an effect on her.
Vella said, “They are still a small group in the Democratic Party.”
Recent actions by Democrats show they are more open to the concerns of the industry. For example, the FIT-21 bill has broad Democratic support in the House of Representatives, and Biden has said he would be willing to work with Congress to pass a law that is better.
According to Vella, the crypto industry should be open to her candidacy because she is very positive and thinks she will win.
People in the industry who have worked in Washington agree that it’s not too late to give up on the Democratic Party, even though some people in the crypto world are very excited about Trump’s campaign.
“Crypto is not tied to any political party,” wrote Jake Chervinsky on X on Wednesday. He used to be the policy head at the Blockchain Association and the chief legal officer at Variant Fund.
He said that even though Republicans have been more supportive of the industry lately, “there’s still a chance for bipartisanship to win out in Congress” and that “a younger generation of Democrats can and will support crypto when it comes time for them to lead.”
