The cryptocurrency industry is doing everything it can to win over the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 presidential election. A new organization has been formed that hopes to counter former President Donald Trump’s growing influence among crypto enthusiasts.
Political crypto battle
According to a fortune reportA new grassroots organization called Crypto for Harris is taking the lead, hosting a virtual summit on Wednesday that will feature prominent Democratic politicians and industry leaders. The goal, according to organizer G. Clay Miller, is to “reset” the narrative surrounding cryptocurrencies and the Democratic Party.
“There was a lot of pent-up energy from Democratic crypto operatives, who saw this as an opportunity to reset the narrative for Democrats around crypto,” Miller, a former Senate aide and organizer on Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign, told Fortune.
The last one election cycle saw a wave of campaign financing from the digital asset sector, primarily from Sam Bankman-Fried and his now-bankrupt company FTX, which donated more than $93 million to candidates of both parties.
However, after Bankman-Fried’s scandal, Democrats quickly distanced themselves from the disgraced founder and took a more skeptical stance toward the industry.
Meanwhile, Republicans have positioned themselves as the champions of the digital assets sectorin which two bills from the House Financial Services Committee were approved.
Many in the industry have also blamed Biden administration officials and political appointees for the continued repression on the sector by regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This shift has the industry scrambling to close a Bankman-Fried-sized hole in their political donations. Firms like Coinbase and a16z crypto are spearheading lobbying and funding efforts through organizations like Stand with Crypto and Fairshake, a super digital asset Political Action Committee (PAC) with a $200 million-plus war chest.
Opposition to former President Donald Trump
The former president’s renewed embrace of Bitcoin and digital assets has also complicated Democrats’ efforts to win over the industry. Trump, who once branded Bitcoin a “scam,” has since become an unabashed booster of the industry, pushing a stump speech at the 2024 annual Bitcoin conference in July.
“If you really look at the actions of the Trump administration when he was in office, they were not exactly pro-crypto,” Miller said. “There’s a misunderstanding among a lot of pro-crypto Republican supporters about how supportive Trump is.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, on the other hand, is still a blank slate when it comes to digital assets, though her team has made some progress in the blockchain industry, including hosting private meetings with industry leaders.
However, some have expressed skepticism about a potential reset by the Biden administration, pointing to key advisers in her campaign who previously played important roles anti-blockchain positions.
According to the report, Wednesday’s Crypto for Harris event will feature a slate of pro-digital asset Democrats, including Reps. Ritchie Torres and Wiley Nickel, as well as a prepared video from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. But despite the group’s outreach, no one from the Harris campaign will appear.
Miller and his co-organizers, Democratic strategist Will Schweitzer and former Justice Department attorney Amanda Wick, are still working out the group’s goals after the rally, which will include a national tour that will likely include fundraising efforts.
While Crypto for Harris may not be able to change the course of the campaign or win over the industry, Miller said the goal is to spark conversation and build excitement around Trump’s hug of digital assets.
“The idea came after seeing how Trump was getting overwhelming support in the crypto industry,” Miller said. “We wanted to create a counter-narrative and argue why Democrats should be the party of crypto.”
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