‘Crypto For Harris’ Town Hall Fails to Sell Industry Following ‘Reset’ Proposal

If the goal of the “Crypto For Harris” campaign’s Wednesday night effort was to convince a skeptical digital asset industry that a Kamala Harris presidency is something to support, it did little to move the needle.

That’s my reading after hearing from dozens of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who tuned into the nearly 90-minute virtual town hall that featured a who’s who of Democratic lawmakers, including the party’s leader, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D-New York), Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), California Congressman Adam Schiff and even a very brief appearance by tech billionaire Mark Cuban.

Out of more than a hundred responses to mine X post asking for feedback from viewers who listened to the call, the vast majority of respondents were neither impressed nor convinced that Harris will play along with the so-called “crypto reset” that Democratic politicians and industry leaders are encouraging her to embrace. This is mainly due to the fact that Harris herself has yet to publicly reveal what she thinks about cryptocurrencies.

A big problem with the event wasn’t who showed up, but who didn’t. Noticeably absent from the event: Harris herself or any member of her campaign staff, something that was quickly pointed out by viewers who were eager to learn more about the vice president’s potential crypto policy, including whether he would back off the regulatory assault what he was doing. he tacitly endorsed Joe Biden as vice president or (as industry leaders demanded) replaced the administration’s chief crypto antagonist, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.

The heated opinions of the virtual confabulation seemed to suggest that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had pulled off a coup with the $2 trillion cryptocurrency industry, intervening early in the campaign, promising a lighter regulatory touch and the removal of Gensler.

However, the live stream which organizers said boasted over 1,000 live viewers wasn’t all bad for Harris and the Democrats. Indeed, some parts have been well received, while others have been criticized. Let’s examine the good, the bad and the ugly takes, starting with the good ones:

Chuck Schumer, one of the top leaders and influential voices of the Democratic Party, appears to be a cryptocurrency convert. In a prepared speech, Schumer declared his intent 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 should find a balance for cryptocurrencies between promoting innovation and providing common-sense barriers,” he said. “We cannot afford to continue to sit on the sidelines, because otherwise we risk cryptocurrencies going overseas to lowest common denominator countries where there will be no regulation, and if we do nothing, the extremists win.”

He expressed his opinion on the importance of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle working together to advance the nascent cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries, while also throwing shade at his colleagues in Congress (some viewers guessed he was directed at the powerful cryptocurrency-skeptic Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren) for building their political brands around “creating spectacle and sensationalism” instead of passing laws.

Schumer was introduced on the call by Mark Cuban, who used his brief one-minute appearance to criticize Republicans’ intentions regarding cryptocurrencies, saying the party “couldn’t care less” and just wants to “see the big bitcoins become richer.” “

It’s definitely not a bad thing for crypto to get Chuck Schumer on its side and I give him credit for showing up.

Other fans of the event described the proceedings to me as having “great energy,” “claiming the optimistic side of techno-optimism,” and “giving hope for the future of making cryptocurrencies an impartial issue.”

The organizing team, represented at the call by four members of the industry, also seemed satisfied with the result, but admitted that the event was only a first step towards some progress.

“The organizing team was incredibly proud of the broader 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 while facing criticism from some in the crypto community, we need to work to get more action and more tangible progress.”

What seemed to be the most obvious “bad” part of the call, according to viewers, was the lack of information about how Harris herself views digital assets or how exactly she plans to fix relations with an industry that feels attacked by the administration of which it is part. part of. As I said before, Harris has yet to say anything publicly about digital assets.

“I was hoping to hear about Harris’ crypto policy and that Democrats would ask how to solve the problem of crypto companies being debanked,” said Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank. “Still waiting to hear.”

“I still don’t know who Kamala Harris is and what she thinks about our industry,” another viewer said.

Others were disappointed with the format of the event.

“I thought a town hall was about hearing the opinion of the people, you know, the people in the city,” said Jake Brukhman, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm CoinFund. “Instead we received some lectures on participants’ views on cryptocurrencies and where they should go politically.”

Still others were disappointed that lawmakers did not address the hostile treatment the industry faced under Gensler and the SEC, dubbing it “the elephant in the room” that was not addressed. Further complaints were raised about pre-recorded video messages sent by Gillibrand, Schiff and others, which some viewers said “diminished” the event and made the presentation to voters seem less genuine.

The “bad” part was best articulated by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

“Pre-recorded videos. Reading from scripts. Harris didn’t show up to her own event. What a clown show,” Tyler Winklevoss tweetedwhile his brother noted that some scheduled guest speakers didn’t even show up.

The Winklevoss twins, whose Gemini cryptocurrency exchange was the victim of Gensler’s regulatory crackdown, have declared their support for GOP candidate Donald Trump, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be changing their minds anytime soon.

Even uglier: Former Messari CEO Ryan Selkis criticized the event as “pathetic” and went on to say that “there wasn’t a single speaker of substance at that hour-long bullshit party.”

Cabbage.

The result: Many viewers said they will remain skeptical of Democrats’ assurances that Harris will do a “reset” with the cryptocurrency industry until they have proof. City Hall, despite its positive aspects, ultimately provided little of this.

“The key will be that Harris will have to articulate her position and the actions she plans to take on this issue, said Austin Campbell, founder of crypto consultancy Zero Knowledge. “If we can’t get a clear statement, the null hypothesis is yet another SEC disaster. AND [Operation Chokepoint] 2.0, unfortunately.”

Harris is set to lay out some of her long-term economic plans during a campaign speech on Friday.