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One of the big hurdles progressive crypto activists face in their quest to get the Democratic Party onside was on display with an ill-tempered Zoom conference last week.
California Congressman Ro Khanna hosted the meeting, which was supposed to help mend frayed ties within the larger bitcoin sector as the party girds for the 2024 presidential fight ahead.
This year, though, things are looking a little different with Kamala Harris as a Vice President, leading the Democratic wharf pushing everyone to seek a share from the overwhelming crypto industry. This year, Donald Trump, who recently took a friendly approach to the crypto industry, is representing the Republican Party.
Presence Of Big Shots
The Democrat Party bigwigs were present in the conference, as are the other striking faces of the crypto industry—the likes of billionaire investor Mark Cuban, Barak Obama’s Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, and venture capitalist Ron Conway.
But the talk quickly became confrontational rather than cooperative. Business leaders were clearly angry at what they considered a regulatory assault being waged by such organizations as the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It had more of a feel of conferences past, where opinions were broadcast and there was no follow through to fix things, conference-goers commented. Describing how strongly crypto leaders are feeling with regard to the government’s attitude toward regulation, one interviewee said, “They simply were shouted at.”
Tensions in the conference ran high when Adeyemo said access to the cryptocurrency market was not intentionally being restrained by the authorities and banks. An angry crypto CEO retorted back if he could show a raise of hands of entrepreneurs whose business requests had been rejected by the banks.
Almost every hand in the room shot up almost to underline the point of contention that was the situation over availability of mainstream banking services. Many ways, thus was an apt metaphor to underscore the situation the crypto community lives and the one being articulated by members of the government.
People’s Reactions And What Lies Ahead
Some among the participants, like Anthony Scaramucci, sounded a note of guarded optimism concerning the hope of conciliation amid the hostility. “It’s very heartening when those high, important authorities do take the effort to show up and listen to our industry,” Scaramucci said.
His comment summarized his belief that participation, even in the middle of controversy, ensures one got better results up the road. The Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, Paul Grewal, also emphasized the importance of the event because the Harris campaign and her potentially “strong new face for crypto” should be headlining immediately.
The Future Of Crypto And The Democrats
Of course, there will be challenges. The road is rocky because the Democratic Party will be piecing back together these often contentious relationships with the crypto industry. The last Zoom call reminded many of the difficult task at hand.
On one side, Trump is gaining popularity among cryptovoters, while on the other, the Democrats have to navigate this landscape carefully to regain the ground that shifted. Efforts like the “Crypto4Harris” campaign are indicative of a conscious effort to engage better with the crypto community.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
