Crypto
did
not
come
up
during
the
first
general
debate
in
the
2024
U.S.
presidential
election,
despite
industry
participants’
hopes.
This
first
debate
between
current
President
Joe
Biden
and
former
President
Donald
Trump
–
each
their
parties’
presumptive
nominee
–
was
held
Thursday
in
Atlanta,
Georgia
by
CNN,
hosted
by
CNN
anchors
Jake
Tapper
and
Dana
Bash.
The
90-minute
debate
began
with
the
economy
but
also
touched
on
issues
like
abortion,
immigration
and
foreign
policy.
The
economic
section
was
brief,
and
the
debate
barely
approached
technology
policy,
let
alone
the
digital
assets
industry.
Crypto
has
been
a
talking
point
for
candidates
and
lawmakers
through
this
election
cycle,
but
emerged
in
a
big
way
after
Trump
began
discussing
crypto
issues
on
the
campaign
trail,
promising
to
commute
the
sentence
of
Silk
Road’s
Ross
Ulbricht
and
making
statements
about
regulation.
For
his
part,
Biden’s
campaign
has
not
made
any
public
statements
about
crypto,
though
his
administration
recently
said
he
wants
to
work
with
Congress
on
legislation
addressing
crypto.
Biden,
who
took
office
in
January
2021,
sounded
raspy
and
was
soft-spoken
throughout
the
evening,
reportedly
due
to
a
cold.
Trump
was
louder
and
clearer,
though
fact-checkers
dinged
his
assertions
throughout
the
debate
more
than
Biden’s.
For
its
part,
the
crypto
industry
is
hoping
for
a
Congress
and
administration
that
may
pass
legislation
friendlier
to
digital
asset
businesses.
To
that
end,
participants
are
looking
to
repeat
the
massive
spending
on
elections
from
2022,
with
companies
like
Coinbase,
Ripple
and
Andresseen
Horowitz
donating
close
to
$50
million
apiece
to
political
action
committees
like
Fairshake
to
support
candidates.
Read
more:
Crypto
Giants
Notch
Wins
in
Expensive
Quest
to
Sway
U.S.
Politics
–
Without
Mentioning
Crypto
The
industry
has
notched
a
number
of
wins
in
the
primary
season,
with
PAC
support
funding
ads
against
Rep.
Katie
Porter
(D-Calif.)
who
ran
for
a
Senate
seat
and
Rep.
Jamaal
Bowman
(D-N.Y.)
in
a
primary
for
his
reelection.
The
first
part
of
Thursday’s
debate
focused
on
the
economy,
with
the
moderators
asking
about
inflation,
the
cost
of
living
and
the
national
debt
over
the
past
few
years.
A
prediction
market
on
Polymarket
gave
Trump
better
odds
of
winning
in
November
during
the
debate,
with
bets
reaching
as
high
as
68
cents,
versus
Biden
at
29
cents.
Each
share
pays
out
$1
if
the
prediction
comes
true,
and
zero
if
not,
meaning
the
market
thinks
Trump
has
a
68%
chance
of
winning.
