The last event of the America loves crypto tour took place yesterday in Washington, DC as the country counts down to the 2024 elections. Speakers including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, ConSensys CEO Joseph Lubin, and Congressman Wiley Nickel (D-NC) addressed the maximum allowed crowd at the Black Cat music venue.
The speakers largely agreed on one idea: the importance of supporting cryptocurrencies in America through a joint bipartisan effort.
During their joint appearance on stage, Brian Armstrong and Congressman Nickel expressed their belief that it is critical to preserve and promote cryptocurrency innovation in America.
This interest, particularly for Nickel, isn’t just based on belief in the technology, but is ostensibly due to the fact that 20% of American adults own some form of cryptocurrency, a voting bloc that Nickel believes “has the ability to influence elections.”
Nickel added: “If we’re going to do things in Washington, it’s critical that we do it in a bipartisan way. If we politicize the issue with one party doing crypto versus another, that’s going to poison the well in Washington for a decade.”
Since Biden took office in 2020, his administration’s SEC, DoJ, and DoE officials have introduced a fair amount of unwanted regulatory hurdles. Nickel’s support for cryptocurrencies in particular signals a change of direction for the historically hostile Democratic Party.
“I came to DC five years ago and when I first got here, most people didn’t even know what crypto was,” Armstrong said. “One member of Congress asked me, ‘Isn’t this like a video game or something?’ Over the years, when they found out what crypto was, the conversation completely changed. Now everyone knows what crypto is, we’re kind of the belle of the ball, the hot topic on everyone’s lips.”
However, one attendee, an executive at a leading financial institution who wished to remain anonymous, reflected on the evolution of crypto politics and what he saw as a lack of engagement from the Democratic Party.
In particular, the executive branch believes that the Biden administration veto on legislation that would nullify SAB 121which, if signed, would allow highly regulated financial institutions to manage digital assets, was a major wake-up call.
They noted that despite raising large amounts of campaign contributions, the crypto industry still carries a strong stigma and that policymakers are not giving this single-issue voter group the respect it deserves.
The America Loves Crypto tour focused on tackling the stigma with a mix of live music and grassroots community building. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, also known as The Chainsmokers, closed out the event, entertaining the crowd with their classic hits, unreleased music, and most notably a shout-out from “F$*# Gary Gesnler.” The Chainsmokers are no strangers to the cryptocurrency space themselves, and founded the tech and crypto-focused Mantis Venture Capital fund in 2020.
With stops in Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, many attendees at the America Loves Crypto tour hoped to see more than 1.4 million Stand with Crypto Advocates across the country can flex their muscles in November and be a real deciding factor.