In politics, a lot can change in a month. After the first presidential debate, Trump and the Republicans appeared to have significant momentum heading into November. Now, Vice-President Kamala Harris, buttressed by her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, can pave a new path forward for the party. Walz’s selection underscores the Harris campaign’s intention to fight for every state and every constituency. As we inch closer and closer to November, the presidential campaigns need all the wins they can get. Harris would do well to reflect on and court the voters who may feel abandoned by the larger party’s approach to certain industries and issues.
One of the many surprises of this election cycle is the emergence of new power players and the constituencies they represent—namely the cryptocurrency industry. Touting freedom of choice as an important aspect of her platform, that sentiment should extend to financial freedom, and with it, the pursuit of financial innovation. The Democratic National Convention has come and gone without much tangible change in the race. Now is the time for Harris to turn the page on crypto for the Democratic party as it becomes a larger part of all our economic and technological futures.
President Joe Biden and his Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler have hampered crypto’s growth and regulation in our country. As I noted in 2021, the war waged on cryptocurrency, primarily by Democrats at the time, could prove costly for the economy, and for potential new voters. Americans invested in crypto range across the political and demographic spectrums—Democrats cannot afford to make opponents out of forward thinkers.
Fast forward three years since I called on Democrats to embrace crypto innovation, it appears that aspects of the Democratic wing have alienated politically ambivalent voters from the crypto space. However, industry leaders have found their voice: Fairshake, a federal super PAC “committed to securing the United States as the home to innovators building the next generation of the internet,” has raised over $200 million dollars this election cycle in support of pro-crypto candidates. Outside of courting Fairshake money, Harris must recognize that the industry is a neglected blind spot for both her party and her budding campaign. Working with the sector begins with engaging industry leaders and Congressional Democrats who have a clear grasp on its future. The opportunity for Democrats to collaborate with the industry has arrived. Just yesterday, avowed crypto skeptic Maxine Waters stated “crypto is inevitable”, and pointed out how other countries are taking purposeful steps to embrace the technology.
While it has been reported that the Vice President’s advisers have reached out to top crypto companies like Coinbase, Circle and Ripple in an effort to “reset” relations, fixing the party’s anti-crypto image will be a tougher task then a few phone calls. Harris should lean on Congressmen such as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY) and Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC). These Congressmen, along with many others, have been at the forefront of sound crypto policy, and approached regulation in an honest, bipartisan manner. For example, both Rep. Torres and Rep. Wiley are cosponsors of H.R. 4762, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act—commonly referred to as FIT21. The bill would establish a clear and first of its kind regulatory framework for digital assets: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would regulate a digital asset as a commodity if the blockchain it runs on is decentralized and functional, while the SEC would regulate the digital asset as a security if the blockchain is not decentralized, among other stipulations. It is worth noting that some tokens have already received regulatory clarity via the courts, most notably XRP, which Judge Analisa Torres ruled was not a security when sold to retail investors.
Legislation like FIT21 and lawmakers like Reps. Khanna and Torres who advocate for commonsense regulation are prime examples of Democrats who understand the core of the technology and industry. Technological innovation and financial equitability are primary tenets of crypto and synonymous with Democratic values. At times the party has taken a “skeptical at best and hostile at worst” approach under the leadership of the Biden administration and SEC Chairman Gensler. Vice President Harris could usher in a new era for the U.S economy by adopting crypto, regulating the industry through bipartisan legislation, launching the U.S back into the space of industry leaders, and committing to advancing financial freedom.
Albert Wynn served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2008, representing Maryland’s 4th district.
Read Full Article »