Politicians, Founders Motivate Crypto Voters on Day One of the America Loves Crypto Tour
On a 100°F evening in Phoenix, crypto enthusiasts from Arizona came out with gusto for the first night of the America Loves Crypto tour.
The tour, organized by the Stand With Crypto Alliance, a non-profit on a mission to get Americas 52 million crypto owners out to the polls in November, will roll through five swing states in the coming weeks, bringing awareness to the importance of voting for candidates who support pro-crypto policies in the upcoming US elections.
On this evening in Arizona, politicians such as Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Arizona House Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham (R) spoke to the audience alongside crypto industry founders before making way for the psychedelic soul grooves of the Black Pumas.
The Mission and the Margin
A huge priority for us is turning out the crypto vote, Logan Dobson, Executive Director of Stand With Crypto, told Bitcoin Magazine.
Our only cause is crypto. Were not pushing for specific candidates. Were not pushing for specific parties. Were just getting the crypto vote out, he added.
And I can tell you that in multiple swing states already, there are more people who have signed up with Stand With Crypto than the margin of victory was in 2020.
Dobsons final point is particularly pronounced in Arizona, where, in the 2020 presidential election, President Biden beat former President Trump by about 10,500 votes. Stand With Crypto has signed up almost three times the amount of crypto advocates 27,231 than the amount of voters who accounted for Bidens margin of victory in the previous election.
Encouragement from Politicians
Senator Sinema kicked off the event, urging audience members to fearlessly vote for candidates who support pro-crypto policies.
You guys are a real force in Arizona and its important that we use this election cycle to ensure that the crypto communitys voice is heard, said Senator Sinema.
Weve got to push for policies that fuel innovation so the financial system works for everyday people. Weve got to make sure that candidates up and down the ballot state legislatures as well as at the federal level understand crypto and are working towards a great political climate for crypto rather than one thats based on misinformation, fear and old-school regulations that hinder the industry, she added.
Sinema concluded her brief speech with what seemed like a mild jab at the Democrats, the party she parted ways with in December 2022.
Dont be afraid to support a candidate or an elected official who takes risks, she said.
You all understand the value of taking risks. The crypto industry wouldnt exist if it werent for risk taking, Sinema added.
We want to look for candidates who are reasonable but are willing to take risks and speak out against the party line rhetoric thats trying to stop or slow the innovation of this industry.
Following Sinema was Grantham, a proponent of the freedom with which bitcoin and crypto provides its users.
Grantham didnt mince words from the stage. He discussed how politicians are abusing the US dollar by spending more of it than they have and printing it at will. He made the case that its up to Gen Z and Millennials especially to vote for pro-crypto politicians to allow for assets like bitcoin to compete against the dollar. He was even more explicit on this topic in an interview backstage with Bitcoin Magazine.
Theres a large group of elected officials who think the government is the solution to our monetary problems, that this fiscal irresponsibility doesnt matter and that the dollar is going to be the end-all-be-all forever and thats just a crazy way of thinking, Grantham told Bitcoin Magazine.
One of the reasons [crypto] is becoming so popular is because of what were doing to the dollar, he argued.
For this reason, Grantham felt its essential for voters to support candidates who dont believe in regulating crypto out of existence, and to vote for politicians who support freedom as opposed to those who seek control.
Its a freedom and control issue, said Grantham.
[Some politicians want] control by keeping everybody married to one currency and not allowing anything else to break through, which crypto is doing. Competition is a good thing, especially when the person who controls the only thing is abusing it so badly, he concluded.
Founders Arent Asking For Much
Next, a panel of crypto founders based in Arizona took the stage. The panel featured Thor Abbasi, co-founder of DeFi protocol Zivoe; George Mekhail, VP of Operations for Bitcoin Magazine and co-organizer of the Arizona Bitcoin Network; and Shelton Beascochea, co-founder of DevilsDAO and Stand With Crypto Arizona Chapter President.
The industry leaders asked for little more than clear rules of the road from the US government, so that they could operate their businesses on-shore and compliantly. In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Abbasi discussed the anxiety that crypto founders have faced due to unfair treatment by federal regulatory agencies under the Biden administration.
One of the toughest things for our project is [knowing] how the industry can interact with banks, Abbasi told Bitcoin Magazine.
We've all probably heard about Operation Chokepoint 2.0, he added, referring to the governments unconstitutional crackdown on the politically unfavorable, but not illegal crypto industry, which resulted in the debanking of many crypto companies.
If we had regulation describing what crypto companies need to do in order to be banked, that would be hugely beneficial.
Mekhail ended the spoken portion of the nights programming on a high note, highlighting that the crypto industry has made notable progress, which will likely only gain steam moving forward.
Think about where we were four years ago, said Mekhail.
We couldnt have an event like this. The fact that 15% of Americans own some form of crypto is crazy, especially thinking about what its going to be four years from now, he added.
The momentum is behind us. Its events like this and just showing up and demonstrating that we have a voice that is really important.
The second date of the America Loves Crypto tour is scheduled for this evening, September 5, at The Space in Las Vegas, NV. You can RSVP to the event here.
Text source: Bitcoin Magazine: Bitcoin News, Articles, Charts,
