Cryptocurrency Industry, Democratic Party Leaders Clash in Heated Zoom Meeting

A virtual conference designed to mend relations between the crypto industry and the Democratic Party turned ugly Thursday morning, Fox Business has learned, highlighting the uphill battle progressive crypto advocates are waging as they try to garner industry support for Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.

California Congressman Ro Khanna hosted a Zoom meeting aimed at mending fences during a contentious election year with a nascent industry that has been the target of a massive regulatory push by the Biden administration’s financial regulators. With Vice President Kamala Harris now at the top of the ticket, the party is looking to help Harris, its 2024 nominee, win back crypto votes from her Republican opponent Donald Trump, who has recently embraced the industry and vowed to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.

About two dozen people were on the call, including senior Biden administration officials such as Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, Deputy National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed. Kristen Lucius, a senior adviser to Harris, was also present but did not speak, according to three people who participated in the call.

On the crypto side, billionaire tech entrepreneur and crypto investor Mark Cuban, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, venture capitalist and Democratic donor Ron Conway, and a host of executives from Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, and other crypto companies were in attendance.

Instead of finding common ground, industry executives largely attacked White House officials over the regulatory onslaught by agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve. People who attended the meeting told Fox Business that the meeting felt like a replay of the roundtable Khanna hosted in Washington, D.C., last month, when industry executives aired their grievances to a senior White House official about the unfair treatment they’ve received under Biden.

WASHINGTON, DC – January 13: Lael Brainard, Federal Reserve Governor and President Biden’s nominee to be the next Federal Reserve Vice Chair, was sworn in during her nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill on January 13. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) / Getty Images

“The executives didn’t hesitate to tell the administration representatives how much damage they were doing to the crypto industry and the Democratic Party with their actions against digital assets,” one attendee, who asked not to be identified, told Fox Business Network. “They were basically yelled at.”

For example, Conway “aggressively” expressed his frustration that the administration was making empty promises to the industry. Conway, an early investor in Coinbase, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Another tense moment occurred when Adimo told the audience that banks and regulators were not actively trying to separate the industry from the broader financial system. In response, one crypto executive asked the callers to raise their hands from companies that had been cut off from banking services due to White House policies. Nearly every industry representative raised their hands, according to two attendees.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital II LLC, speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The New Economy Forum is organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg. (Brian Van Der Beek/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

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Despite the friction, Scaramucci told Fox Business he is optimistic that Harris will get some support in the crypto world.

“It’s encouraging that these high-level officials took the time to come and listen to our industry,” Scaramucci said. “It’s understandable that my crypto colleagues want action now, but that’s not the way things work in Washington. I think we’re making steady progress.”

Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, also came out with a positive outlook.

“This was a Biden administration meeting, but the focus now should be on the Harris campaign and what they are prepared to do,” he said. “She is the perfect candidate to be a strong new face for crypto and break away from the past.”