Chuck Schumer Joins Growing Group of Cryptocurrency-Backed Democrats—But Harris Remains Silent Until Now

After Trump delivered a speech at the annual Bitcoin conference in July, held this year in Nashville, crypto Democrats have been working to turn the tables and convince blockchain advocates to vote Green while making forays into Harris’ campaign. A new grassroots organization, Crypto for Harris, is hosting a virtual town hall on Wednesday that is expected to attended by top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), along with Mark Cuban and Adam Scaramucci.

In an interview with LuckCrypto for Harris organizer G Clay Miller, a former Senate aide and organizer for Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) 2020 presidential campaign, said the idea came after seeing Trump build overwhelming support in the crypto industry. “There’s a lot of pent-up energy from Democratic crypto executives who see this as an opportunity to reset the narrative for the Democratic Party around crypto,” he said.

Reset or retreat?

The most recent presidential election saw a wave of campaign funding from the crypto sector, although the majority came from a source: Sam Bankman-Fried and his now bankrupt company FTX, spent More than $93 million in donations to candidates from all over.

After his fall from grace, the Democratic Party — the most visible recipient of his stolen money, according to with Bankman-Fried himself—quickly distanced itself from its disgraced founder. The party also targeted the broader crypto sector, holding series of hearings as a referendum on the sector as a regulator including Securities and Exchange Commission by Gary Gensler suppressed through law enforcement actions.

Although cryptocurrency has supporters in Congress among Democrats, including Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), Republicans have positioned themselves as defenders of the struggling district, including evolution two bills from the House Financial Services Committee. Meanwhile, many crypto industry leaders be blamed Biden administration officials and appointees in crackdown.

They also rushed to fill Bankman-Fried’s massive void in cryptocurrency donations, with companies including Cryptocurrency and a16z crypto leads lobbying and funding efforts through organizations like Stand with Crypto And FairCrypto-focused super PAC with $200 million in funding.

While the two groups and many industry leaders claim to support candidates from both political parties, the industry has seen a marked shift to the right since Trump began embracing cryptocurrencies. The former president, who once denounced Bitcoin, began warming to the industry after launching a NFT Collection and became an outspoken supporter at a recent Bitcoin conference. Meanwhile, prominent industry figures such as the Winklevoss twins, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have voiced their support for Trump.

Meanwhile, Harris has remaining a white paper on cryptocurrencies, although her team has made some progress towards the blockchain industry, including is setting up private meetings with industry leaders. Others have voiced skepticism about any reset from the Biden administration, pointing out top advisor Her campaign includes those who have previously taken anti-blockchain stances, including former director and deputy director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese and India Ramamurti.

Cryptocurrency for Harris

The new grassroots organization, Crypto for Harris, faces the difficult task of convincing many in the industry to switch their allegiance to the Democratic Party. Miller—along with two co-organizers, Democratic strategist Will Schweitzer and former Justice Department attorney Amanda Wick—is still mapping out the group’s goals after Wednesday’s town hall, including a national roadshow that will likely include fundraising efforts. The group is not yet established as an official political action organization, though that could change in the future, Miller said. LuckWhile Crypto For Harris may not be able to change the course of the campaign or win the support of the crypto industry, Miller said the goal is to start a conversation—and dampen the enthusiasm around Trump.

Even if Harris’ stance on crypto remains unclear, Miller said Trump’s newfound embrace of digital assets should be viewed with caution. After all, just a few years ago, he call Bitcoin is a “scam”.

“If you really look at the actions of the Trump administration while he was in office, they were not particularly pro-crypto,” Miller said. Luck“Many Republican crypto advocates misunderstand the extent of Trump’s support.”

Wednesday’s event featured several pro-crypto Democrats, including Torres, Nickel, and a video prepared by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). But while Miller said the group had been in contact with Harris’s campaign, no one from her group would appear.

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