Democratic Reps Ask Party to End Hostility Against Crypto and Blockchain Tech
Fourteen Democrats in the United States House of Representatives sent a letter to Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison on July 26, noting that there is a need to stop being hostile to the digital asset industry.
It came as Vice President Kamala Harris is likely to be nominated as the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. Representatives Josh Gottheimer, Ro Khanna, Wiley Nickel, Ritchie Torres and others requested a “forward-looking approach” to digital assets and blockchain technology, as well as the addition of supportive language to the official platform.
They asked the DNC chair to ensure that the person to be picked as vice-presidential candidate should favor cryptocurrency and the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler should be replaced with another person that is pro-cryptocurrency.
“[T]here is a public perception that the party holds a negative viewpoint on digital assets, largely due to the current SEC’s approach to these transformative technologies… We believe this previous hostility does not reflect our Party’s progressive, forward-looking, and inclusive values. A refreshed leader of the ticket represents an opportunity to change that perception,” reads the letter.
Furthermore, the lawmakers said:
“We believe this technology is non-partisan, and the Democratic Party should also champion these innovations to help reaffirm the US’s position as the leader in the global digital economy.”
Seven days ago, the Digital Chamber sent a letter to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris urge her “to take a forward-looking approach on digital assets and blockchain technology.” The Digital Chamber called on her to help include “Pro-Digital Asset Language” in the party’s platform to reflect possible benefits of digital assets and blockchain technology, as well as select a vice-presidential candidate that is well-versed in policies related to digital assets to propose pro-innovation policies.
Similarly, the Republican National Committee included defending the right to mine Bitcoin and opposing the creation of a CBDC on its platform a few weeks ago.