The Democrats are ignoring crypto — is that a good thing?
Crypto wasn’t mentioned once as the Democrats set out their priorities for the next four years, but some argue this indicates that Biden’s aggressive crackdown will end.
The 2024 Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago yesterday and will see Kamala Harris formally confirmed as the party’s presidential nominee.
In recent days, there have been murmurings that her campaign was gearing up to adopt a more open stance toward crypto regulation, in contrast to Joe Biden’s aggressive clampdown.
Groups such as Crypto4Harris have popped up, with senior Democrats and entrepreneurs arguing that Donald Trump doesn’t have a monopoly on proposing literate policies.
During a virtual town hall, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer even declared that crypto legislation can be passed this year — ending years of paralysis in Congress.
So as the DNC kicked off, with the likes of Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton gracing the podium, there was some optimism that digital assets might get a fleeting mention.
All was going well until the Democrats set out their priorities for the next four years in an official 92-page document, which failed to mention crypto at all.
This will be a disappointment to ardent believers who firmly believe in this industry’s potential, but don’t want Trump to secure a second term in the Oval Office.
There was further panic when rumors started to circulate that Gary Gensler, who has been accused of “regulation by enforcement” during a controversial stint as SEC chair, could be tapped as the next treasury secretary if Harris wins in the fall.
Custodia Bank CEO and Bitcoin supporter Caitlin Long poured cold water on those reports by declaring that this speculation is false — and given how this would have swayed the decision of anyone voting based on crypto alone, that’s probably a good thing.
Given crypto’s omission from the agenda, it would be easy to assume that American investors should just expect more of the same: gray areas, inconsistency, and a flight of top talent to rival economies that are more open-minded to digital assets.
But weirdly, many BTC-holding Democrats have been seeking to argue that this is a good thing — and could actually herald a reset when it comes to how crypto is treated by legislators.
A ‘damn good’ pivot
Crypto analyst Adam Cochran believes that the absence of digital assets from the party platform may indicate more of a hands-off approach — and an end to “anti-crypto rhetoric.”
He pointed to how some Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, had been lobbying for a much more aggressive stance against crypto, but there are growing signs that the party is now heading in another direction.
Cochran said that there would have been cause for alarm if the party platform had pushed for the SEC to have greater powers, an outright ban on crypto, or a “formal chokepoint strategy” designed to make trading impractical for consumers and businesses alike. He wrote on X:
“Crypto doesn’t need government handouts to succeed. It needs a non-hostile environment. Proactive and supportive policy is great, but it also takes time to develop.”
Not everyone agrees with his analysis here — with some arguing that complete silence on this issue doesn’t mean that things will change for the better.
The Bitcoin Voter Project, which has been established by a number of prominent U.S. mining firms, went on to claim that “the Democrats are missing a huge opportunity to energize and activate millions of left-leaning Bitcoiners.”
Sure, crypto was worth a mention at some point in a 92-page party platform. But you could argue that Harris may have bigger fish to fry. Global wars are raging and fears are growing around climate change — with economic uncertainty and housing shortages a major concern. Given that the total crypto market cap stands at $2.2 trillion, which is less than 10% of America’s annual GDP, does the industry have an overinflated view of how much attention it deserves?
What’s more, it’ll be interesting to see how much crypto ends up swaying Americans in the ballot box come November. From education to the economy, healthcare to gun control, immigration to abortion, there are many challenges facing the country — and it seems naive to think that many Bitcoiners will cast votes based on this issue alone.
Between now and Thursday, it seems there will be little for the crypto industry to look forward to on stage in Chicago. But given how unpredictable and dramatic the race has already been, a lot can change over the next 76 days.
