Report From The DNC: Democrats Warm Up To Bitcoin And Crypto, But Offer No
Bitcoin was not a big topic at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week. None of the speakers at the event uttered a word about the electronic cash system or other crypto assets from the event’s main stage at Chicago’s United Center. And you’d have been hard pressed to have overheard a conversation on Bitcoin or crypto anywhere in the halls of the arena either.
However, despite the fact that Democrats chose not to include Bitcoin or crypto in their official platform, some high-ranking Democrats did say this week that a Harris administration would be more pro-Bitcoin and pro-crypto than the Biden administration has been — though without offering specifics. Also, at satellite events for the conference, some Democrats spoke passionately about why their party should embrace Bitcoin and crypto.
Congressman Wiley Nickel (D-NC), a Bitcoin and crypto proponent, spoke to the idea that a Harris administration will take a different approach to the crypto industry than the Biden administration has.
“Vice President Harris has been working for and as part of the Biden-Harris administration, but now she’s coming into this campaign with her own positions on issues,” Rep. Nickel told Bitcoin Magazine explained in an interview at the convention.
“A lot has happened in the last few week’s, so she’s [only now] starting to come out with policy positions. It’s not going to be an immediate process of her coming out with things she would do differently from President Biden, but she will have different positions on issues, and she will make those known,” he added.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Vice President Harris will introduce policies to support the crypto industry if elected. This was according to her senior campaign advisor for policy, who spoke at a Bloomberg News roundtable at the convention.
The article touched on how Harris plans to engage with the cryptocurrency industry — though, again it didn’t offer any particulars on how she plans to do so. It also quoted Harris saying that she plans to “cut needless bureaucracy and unnecessary regulatory red tape” while encouraging “innovative technologies” by offering “transparent rules of the road,” though none of Harris’ quotes in the piece included any direct references to Bitcoin or crypto.
Rep. Nickel didn’t offer any specifics on what Harris’ policy might look like either, as he said he didn’t want to speak on behalf of Harris, but did note the success of the Crypto4Harris town hall, an event held on Wednesday, August 15, that featured Democratic lawmakers including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) as well as billionaire crypto enthusiast Mark Cuban, sharing that there’s “a real sense of momentum amongst Democrats on the issue.”
Rep. Nickel also asked Bitcoin and crypto enthusiasts to heed a certain warning.
“The anti-crypto names you hear are just totally invented by folks who are trying to…
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