Coinspeaker No Crypto? Community Reacts to Senator Schumer’s Bipartisan Legislation Call
The US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer didn’t mention crypto in his latest call for bipartisan regulation before elections. In a letter to his Senate counterparts, Schumer requested Republicans to help fast-track joint legislation for artificial intelligence and other priority issues. In August, Senator Schumer pledged that the Senate would pass a bipartisan crypto regulation before the end of the year. However, with the US fiscal year ending by 30 September and limited legislative days, he didn’t consider crypto in the last-minute bipartisan regulations.
Crypto Community Reacts
The crypto community seemed disappointed with the perceived pivot from crypto to AI.
“In a surprise to absolutely no one, it turns out Senator Schumer is not interested in passing any crypto legislation this year (or any year?). Ignore what they say; watch what they do,” stated James Murphy, a policy watcher and lawyer at Ludlow Street Advisors.
For his part, Mike Dudas of crypto VC fund 6th Man Ventures criticized Democrats and believed that only Republicans want crypto to thrive in the US
For context, figures like Mike Cuban and Antony Scaramucci have championed the Crypto4Harris agenda, claiming that Kamala Harris’s win would benefit the industry. This belief was further fueled by a ‘crypto reset’ from the Harris campaign team to seek amends with the industry.
However, despite the Democrats’ efforts, the Biden-Harris administration has taken more crypto enforcement actions in the past few weeks. Given his public support and plan for the space, most of the community has viewed Donald Trump’s win as likely to benefit the sector.
In contrast, Kamala Harris has not made any public announcements about crypto. In fact, her new policy focus and plans have cited artificial intelligence and have not mentioned crypto or blockchain technology.
Industry Supports Pro-Crypto Candidates
This has further unsettled the community, and they could rally support for Republicans and candidates deemed crypto-friendly. That said, Fairshake, one of the largest crypto-focused super PACs (political action committees), has raised millions to support pro-crypto candidates.
One beneficiary is John Deaton, who recently won the Republican primaries and will face Elizabeth Warren in the Massachusetts senatorial race. If her recent statement is anything to go by, this seems to have poked Warren the wrong way as she criticized the excessive crypto funding to unseat her.
In the meantime, the industry has wished for regulatory clarity in the space for years. So far, the only bill that has seen some progress is the infrastructure bill, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21). The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. However, whether it will pass the Senate before the end of 2024 remains to be seen.
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No Crypto? Community Reacts to Senator Schumer’s Bipartisan Legislation Call