The speakers and artists on the second evening of the America loves crypto tour were just as passionate and driven to generate the crypto votes as those of the first night of the tour.
Political figures and crypto industry leaders in attendance at the event, which took place at The Space in Las Vegas, included Sonny Vinuya, Outreach Director for Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R); Rudy Pamintuan, Chief of Staff for Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros S. Anthony (R); Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine (D); and Kate Rouch, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Coinbase. Rapper and singer 070 Shake and Las Vegas based DJ 3LAU performed during the event.
The common thread in the rhetoric of the speakers and performers at the event was that crypto is here to stay, that Nevada is becoming a home for the crypto industry, and that crypto votes matter a lot in Nevada, a swing state with a population of just over 3.1 million, where the difference in votes in the 2024 presidential election was just 33,516.
Ensuring victory for pro-crypto candidates in Nevada
“We need to make sure that our policymakers and the leaders we elect are the ones who embrace what we believe in,” Pamintuan, a crypto investor since 2015, told the audience.
“And so in this upcoming election cycle, especially here in Nevada, the election is going to be won or lost by 1 or 2 percentage points. That’s about 15,000 to 30,000 votes,” he added.
“If you add up how many people in our state are investing in crypto, that number is much bigger than the margin of victory.”
Much bigger is an understatement, as 385,000 Nevada residents own crypto, according to the Support Crypto AllianceThis song was on the screens of the event all evening.
“In my field we always say that the market decides,” Conine began.
“Well, guess what, folks? You are the market and your vote matters. Elections in this state are always very close, and they’re not close because everyone votes and both parties are equal. They’re close because some people vote, but a lot of people stay home,” he added, before urging those in the audience who weren’t registered to vote to do so, while stressing that the crypto vote could sway the vote in upcoming elections at both the state and federal level.
Rouch, a Nevada resident, also called for action from the podium.
“We need you in this election,” she said.
“It’s critical to find out where the politicians in your district, in your state, stand on crypto — to really ask them the tough questions — and to tell your friends and family to get out and vote.”
Nevada as home to Bitcoin and crypto industry
“Las Vegas is a city full of possibilities that go beyond the casino floors,” Vinuya said from the stage.
“Nevada is home to an emerging center of technology and financial innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth,” he added, before noting that the Governor’s Office of Economic Development facilitated $5 billion in economic investment last year and that the state saw 4% job growth over the same period.
Part of this trend was fueled by Nevada’s embrace of the crypto industry.
“Amid all of these exciting achievements under the leadership of Governor Lombardo and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Nevada has also become a home to innovators in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency,” he explained.
Vinuya then pointed out that next year Bitcoin Conference will be located in Las Vegas.
“Here in our state, we have a great concept put forth by Governor Lombardo called ‘the Nevada Way,’ which means as Nevadans, we never give up, never give up, and never stop dreaming,” he concluded. “The spirit of the Nevada Way is alive and well in the Bitcoin community and we welcome your innovation and big dreams to Nevada.”
Taking advantage of political momentum
According to Rouch, we’ve reached the point of no return with crypto, and politicians can no longer afford not to take a stand on the issue. That’s why Coinbase Supports the Stand With Crypto Alliance.
“What we’re really saying here is ‘pay attention,’” Rouch told Bitcoin Magazine. “This is important to a lot of voters.”
After pointing out that 52 million Americans of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses now own cryptocurrency, Rouch explained that politicians at the federal level are now realizing the magnitude of this problem and are acting accordingly.
“We have seen undeniable changes in Washington, D.C., across both parties over the past year,” she said.
“We had FIT21 passed in the House on a bipartisan vote. That was really unprecedented. We also have politicians make their statements about crypto public “For the first time, and I’m very optimistic about that,” she added.
Rouch wasn’t the only speaker or performer at the event who was optimistic.
Before he started his DJ set, 3LAU told the story of how he met the Winklevoss twins, early Bitcoin buyers and owners of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, at a gig ten years ago. He recounted how at that event they explained to him what Bitcoin was and that it gave him hope.
“Bitcoin changed my life, and it has been that way for the past 10 years,” 3LAU told the crowd before starting his DJ set.
“This election is probably the most important of my lifetime. We have to make a choice: the future of the financial system or the legacy of nonsense that we have had to deal with,” he added.
“And we’re all fucking going to vote for crypto.”