How did Kamala Harris miss the crypto roundtable?
Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, is baffled that Kamala Harris failed to attend the crypto roundtable meeting that took place on Aug. 8.
“All she needed was an internet connection,” Tyler said in a post on X.
Kamala Harris is the current U.S. Vice President and the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the upcoming election. Her main rival is Donald Trump, the former president who has increasingly touted his crypto-friendly stance, including the pledge to end Joe Biden’s “war on crypto” if elected.
Biden will not run after he dropped out and endorsed his VP. To many observers, this gave Harris a great chance to press the reset button in terms of her party’s stance on crypto.
Yet the Bitcoin (BTC) 2024 conference, which Trump attended, is an opportunity she missed. Critics also note that Harris has yet to openly talk about crypto. And amid these are observations that Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is alive.
Notably, the U.S. has about 50 million crypto holders who want their vote to count toward making the U.S. the top destination for blockchain and crypto innovation.
‘Technical difficulties?’ Winklevoss wondered
Crypto clearly wants Harris to make her stance clear and provide some direction as to what her administration will be like for crypto. Trump has done that, including vowing to never sell the U.S. government’s Bitcoin stake, fire Gary Gensler and support policy seeking to establish a Bitcoin reserve.
But does this mean Harris needed to attend the meeting? Maybe not, as the crypto roundtable on Aug. 8 involved some of the most senior White House officials.
Still, the meeting was virtual, and Tyler, as did Cameron Winklevoss, could not resist taking a dig at her “no show.”
“I understand that she’s on the campaign trail, but the meeting was virtual. All she needed was an Internet connection. Technical difficulties?” the Gemini co-founder posted on X.
Tyler has also dismissed the Crypto4Harris campaign that claims to be a “grassroots” effort by those seeking a nuanced crypto policy approach for the Harris for President campaign.
Who attended the roundtable?
According to a report by The Block, attendees included Wally Adeyemo, the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, and Lael Brainard, the U.S. National Economic Council Director. Kamala Harris’ director of legislative affairs Kristine Lucius also attended.
The meeting was the second by the White House and saw industry figures such as Ripple chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse, Circle’s Jeremy Allaire, and Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal.
Uniswap, Stellar Development Foundation, Kraken, and crypto venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz had their top executives in attendance.
