In yesterday’s meeting, the crypto industry executives lashed out at the White House officials over the regulatory assault from the Federal Reserve and the US SEC.
In order to discuss the future crypto policy, crypto executives engaged in a heated discussion with White House officials in a Zoom meeting on Thursday, August 8. Crypto executives, who are also Democratic supporters, are fighting an uphill battle to build a positive image for Kamala Harris ahead of the upcoming Presidential elections.
Hosted by California Congressman Ro Khanna, the goal of the meeting was to chart a clear path on the crypto regulatory approach after a heavy crackdown by the Biden administration over the past few years.
Around 20 people were on the Zoom call yesterday including top officials like Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Bruce Reed. Per the Fox News report, Kristine Lucius, a senior adviser to Harris, was also present, however, remained silent throughout the call.
Attending from the crypto side were billionaire investors like Mark Cuban, venture capitalist and Democratic donor Ron Conway, executives from Ripple, Coinbase, and SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci.
The crypto industry executives lashed out at the White House officials over the regulatory assault from the Federal Reserve and the US SEC. A Fox Business executive who attended the meeting noted:
“Executives didn’t hold back on telling the administration reps how much damage they’ve done to the crypto industry and to the Democrat Party with their actions against digital assets. They basically just got yelled at.”
Conway, for example, “aggressively” voiced frustration that the administration has offered only empty promises to the industry. Conway, an early investor in Coinbase, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Crypto Industry Players Lash Out
Custodia Bank founder Caitlin Long pointed out that the Harris team has all players who have been opposing crypto vehemently in the past. She noted that Lael Brainard threw the Custodia Bank under the bus during her tenure at the Federal Reserve.
I'M CALLING B.S. ON THIS: "That is very much seen as moving the ball forward," the source said [about today's White House #crypto meeting]. Both Brainard and Adeyemo were "very inquisitive," they added." BUT ACTIONS, NOT WORDS, FOLKS. Brainard threw @custodiabank under the bus… https://t.co/7ZPUHSLVx9
— Caitlin Long 🔑⚡️🟠 (@CaitlinLong_) August 9, 2024
During yesterday’s meeting, another tense moment arose when Adeyemo told attendees that banks and regulators were not intentionally trying to isolate the industry from the broader financial system. In response, a crypto executive asked participants to raise their hands if their firms had been denied banking services due to White House policies. According to two attendees, nearly all the industry representatives raised their hands.
In another development yesterday, the US Federal Reserve charged crypto-friendly Customers Bank over violations of efficient AML practices. Following this event, Gemini exchange co-founder Tyler Winklevoss stated that the Harris crypto reset is nothing but a scam, as the Democrats work on a Crypto for Harris campaign.
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