Crypto Insiders Hope for Possible Mention in Biden-Trump Debate

This
U.S.
presidential
election
has
been
the
first
where
cryptocurrencies
have
come
up
as
a
major
policy
issue,
and
the
industry
is
lobbying
(and
bracing
for)
the
possibility
that
President
Joe
Biden
and
former
President
Donald
Trump
may
bring
it
up
when
they
face
off
in
a
Thursday
debate.

To
that
end,
crypto
advocacy
group

Stand
With
Crypto
set
up
an
online
letter-writing
campaign
to
convince
hosts
CNN
to
raise
crypto
as
a
talking
point.
A
spokeswoman
for
the
group
said
Wednesday
that
almost
2,300
people
had
signed
and
sent
the
notes
“calling
for
a
crypto
question.”

“It
would
be
a
huge
miss
for
CNN
to
punt
this
opportunity
to
let
Americans
know
where
the
presidential
candidates
stand
on
this
important
economic
issue,”
spokeswoman
Sabrina
Siddiqui
told
CoinDesk.
She
pointed
out
that
the
group’s
number
of

members
in
Georgia,
where
the
9
p.m.
EDT
(01:00
UTC)
event
will
take
place,
far
exceeds
the
gap
between
the
candidates
in
their
previous
2020
contest.

The
form
letter
from
Stand
With
Crypto
concludes:
“Giving
the
major
presidential
candidates
a
chance
to
weigh
in
on
this
transformational
technology
in
the
first
debate
would
go
a
long
way
towards
educating
the
electorate
and
helping
American
crypto
owners
cast
an
informed
ballot.”

Biden’s
record
on
digital
assets
is
familiar
to
the
industry,
which
need
only
review
his
executive
orders,
White
House
statements
and
the
actions
of
the
U.S.
regulators
he
appointed,
including
at
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission.
Trump’s
administration
didn’t
make
significant
moves
in
crypto,
and
his
past
position
of
skepticism
has
only
recently
turned
toward
glowing
support
of
the
technology.

“It’s
remarkable
that
we
are
discussing
crypto
as
a
possible
topic
on
the
biggest
stage
in
presidential
politics
–
and
a
marker
of
how
much
headway
the
industry
has
made
in
communicating
its
value
to
the
national
political
debate,”
said
Kristin
Smith,
CEO
of
the
Blockchain
Association,
in
an
emailed
statement.
“The
crypto
industry
–
and
its
growing
base
of
users
–
are
eager
for
a
sustained
debate
between
the
candidates
on
their
approach
to
digital
assets,
and
feel
energized
that
it
has
emerged
as
an
important
topic
in
this
election.”

Trump
has
emerged
as
a
vocal
supporter
of
U.S.
crypto
mining
and
as
an
opponent
of
the
U.S.
issuing
a
central
bank
digital
currency
(CBDC),
seeking
to
contrast
himself
with
Biden’s
efforts
to
tax
miners
and
his
administration’s
interest
in
studying
CBDCs.

“We
appreciate
that
candidates
recognize
the
importance
of
not
only
debating
how
to
regulate
digital
assets
but
also
how
to
create
responsible
regulation
that
does
not
stifle
innovation
in
the
United
States,”
said
a
spokesperson
for
the
DeFi
Education
Fund.