Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday he believes the Senate can realistically pass bipartisan laws to control cryptocurrencies before the tip of the yr, offering latest hope to an industry that has been stuck in legislative limbo for years.
“Passing legislation this year is absolutely possible, even in these divisive times,” Schumer said during a virtual town hall meeting to boost money for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
The event, titled “Crypto4Harris,” was attended by billionaire Mark Cuban and Schumer's fellow New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand, in addition to Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Stabenow is chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, where a bipartisan crypto bill is currently moving through the committee.
Two Democrats running for a Senate seat also participated within the event: Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who’s running to succeed the retiring Stabenow in Michigan, and Rep. Adam Schiff, who is taken into account the favourite for a vacant seat in California. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina also participated in the decision.
“Why are we here today? Because we all support Vice President Kamala Harris as our next president and we all believe in the future of cryptocurrencies,” Schumer said.
“My goal when it comes to crypto regulation is this: I want to bring members of both parties together here in the Senate … so that we can pass meaningful legislation that will help the United States maintain its status as the most innovative country in the world,” he added.
Schumer's general support for cryptocurrencies is nothing latest – he joined Republicans earlier this yr in repealing regulatory guidelines that the industry found too burdensome – but his enthusiastic endorsement of digital currencies on Wednesday went further than many on Capitol Hill expected.
“Crypto is definitely here to stay. So Congress needs to get it right,” he said.
Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, hosted the evening event, the newest in a series of Zoom calls and city hall meetings geared toward raising money and consolidating support for Harris amongst various voting blocs.
Harris didn’t attend the web event, but many members of her party spoke out to reassure the crypto industry as a complete that a possible Harris administration would support the creation of a regulatory framework for the industry that will encourage domestic innovation.
Gillibrand said in a pre-recorded address that a future Harris administration would “understand” and “enable” a “balanced approach” to regulating the sector.
More than 70 Democrats within the House of Representatives crossed party lines and supported the Financial Innovation and Technology for the twenty first Century Act which was passed by the House of Representatives in May this yrNext it goes to the Senate.
Schumer has not yet indicated which of the bills under discussion he’ll support, but Stabenow's presence with Schumer on the town hall meeting on Wednesday could indicate that Schumer is favorable to Stabenow's bill.
In recent months, this symbolic voting bloc has emerged as a key player within the 2024 elections, each on the presidential level and in key Senate races.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has recently been devoting public speeches to the crypto sector in the course of the campaign. Last month, he also headlined the largest Bitcoin event of the yr in Nashville, Tennessee, after years of rejecting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying tokens should not money and their value is “meaningless.”
Harris has not yet expressed her official opinion on cryptocurrencies, but Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Nickel (DN.C.) told CNBC on the sidelines of this yr's flagship Bitcoin conference in Tennessee that they’re in direct dialogue with the Harris campaign team on the difficulty.
“I think we'll hear something from Vice President Harris on this soon. And I'm very optimistic that we'll get a reset. And I think that's going to play a big role,” Nickel previously told CNBC. “This issue is not going away. And we need to make sure that we continue to address it in a bipartisan manner.”
The race to win the favor of the crypto-friendly electorate is accelerating because the sector pours tens of tens of millions of dollars into key election campaigns.
Pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake on Wednesday pledged to donate $3 million each to Slotkin and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who’s running for a seat within the swing state of Arizona.
Both are in a decent race for Senate seats that can be contested by Trump-backed candidates, seats that might ultimately determine whether Schumer and his party retain the bulk.
Fairshake's financial support of Democratic candidates in those elections apparently angered leading Republicans “who viewed the industry as an ally, not an adversary.” in keeping with an NBC report.
Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, told CNBC that the “biggest thing” he expects to occur in 2024 is that cryptocurrencies “are not only seen as a more legitimate and important issue,” but that this shift has also turn into more bipartisan.
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