Last Thursday, executives from the crypto industry spoke with US lawmakers, representatives from the Biden administration, and those involved in Kamala Harris’ campaign. The session came as crypto has become a bi-partisan topic in the US as election day nears.
This meeting occurred virtually, although slated to be in person. From the crypto side, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Kraken CEO David Ripley, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Skybridge founder and managing partner Anthony Scaramucci, and Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal attended. This group included figures representing US-based and global companies. About a dozen executives were present.
US Democratic Representative Ro Khanna organized this meeting to get all the figures together with the lawmakers. It included an array of political figures, including Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council director, and Bruce Reed, White House deputy chief of staff. Kristine Lucius, Harris’ domestic policy advisor, also attended the meeting.
During the virtual gathering, it was mostly crypto executives making their case as the lawmakers and political associates listened. The discussion ranged from urging the Democrats to reset their crypto stance and develop laws favorable to the industry, including reduced taxation, stablecoin legislation, and appropriate distinguishing of security tokens from the rest.
Those representing crypto firms also pointed at SEC chair Gary Gensler’s enforcement against businesses in the ecosystem, talking about the large swath of lawsuits the agency has unfairly brought. A Yahoo! Finance report noted they even signaled for Gensler’s removal from his position.
As Harris stepped up to become the presidential nominee after Biden dropped out a few weeks ago, the crypto industry is trying to push the asset class and blockchain technology to become a part of her campaign. She has yet to speak about the industry and make crypto a part of her platform.
On the contrary, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has iterated that he would be the ‘crypto president’ if elected, bring favorable laws for the industry, and fire Gensler as the SEC chair. The crypto industry looks for such interest from the Democrats now that Harris has taken over as their presidential candidate. Many see Biden’s actions during his current term as anti-crypto.
