Stand With Crypto’s five-state battleground bus tour kicked off last week in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance
A large purple bus emblazoned with “AMERICA ❤️ CRYPTO” began driving through five swing states last week on a mission to get out the vote ahead of the presidential election.
The campaign, originally launched by Coinbasehas a shorter-term goal: Getting a crypto question asked in Tuesday night’s presidential debate.
THE Stand With Crypto Alliancecreated last year, started a letter writing request five days ago to pressure ABC News to raise an encryption issue in the first — and perhaps only — presidential debate between Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The group, which hosts 2,500 debate watch parties across the country, has had more than 2,000 people sign a pre-drafted letter on its website.
“I am one of the 52 million Americans who own cryptocurrencies,” the letter reads. “On behalf of myself and all American cryptocurrency holders, I urge you to ask the candidates where they stand on cryptocurrency and its place in the American economy.”
In recent months, Trump has positioned himself as a pro-cryptocurrency candidate. Harris has yet to announce her official position on digital, but the Biden administration’s aggressive crackdown on the industry has created an opening for the former president.
Trump has pledged to fire SEC chairman Gary Gensler, who has taken on companies such as Coinbase. In addition to the presidential race, the group is supporting crypto-friendly politicians in Congress as they seek more favorable laws. In May, the Parliament voted it Financial innovation and technology for the 21st centurywith the help of more than 70 Democrats.
Stand With Crypto’s bus tour of five battleground states is all about getting people registered to vote.
Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance
“Bipartisan cryptocurrency legislation has already passed the House of Representatives, and more and more elected officials support crypto,” the letter states.
ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On its website, the alliance rates Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for their support of crypto. For Harris and VP Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, the group gives a grade of “N/A” and says, “pending stance on cryptocurrencies.”
Many crypto fanatics see the November election as a defining moment for the industry and are showing up with their wallets. Almost half of all donations made by companies this cycle came from crypto companies, according to a report by Public Citizen.
Stand With Crypto’s tour of the battleground states is more about getting out the vote than raising cash. And the group has been trying for months to get presidential candidates to talk about the issue.
The alliance previously lobbied CNN with 2,300 emails requesting a coded question ahead of the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, who at the time was the presumptive Democratic nominee. The network did not address the issue.
Between online and in-person efforts, Stand with Crypto has registered 104,000 people through its voter registration tool. Along the way, the group has played concerts and given speeches to crowds of fans.
Stand With Crypto’s five-state battleground bus tour kicked off last week in Phoenix, Arizona, where Senator Kyrsten Sinema spoke about electing lawmakers who understand cryptocurrency.
Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance
The bus tour kicked off in Phoenix last Wednesday, with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat who is now an independent, galvanizing the crowd with an impassioned speech about electing lawmakers who understand cryptocurrency.
“Sane, sensible regulation that allows the industry to continue to innovate and grow – that’s what we need to stay focused on,” Sinema said.
The bus then headed to Las Vegas, where crypto advocates heard from the state treasurer and the lieutenant governor’s chief of staff. According to data shared by the alliance, 385,000 Nevadans own cryptocurrencies and more than 16,000 people in the state have signed up to be Stand with Crypto supporters.
Arizona and Nevada are two of seven swing states that are up for grabs with less than two months until Election Day and the contest in virtual tie. This week, the crypto bus will make stops in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which are also among the key states.
The final event will take place in Washington, DC on September 18. Several top Coinbase executives, including Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, will speak, and musical duo The Chainsmokers will perform at a nightclub.
Stand With Crypto’s five-state battleground bus tour stopped in Las Vegas last week, where cryptocurrency advocates heard from the state treasurer and chief of staff for Lt. Cmdr.
Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance
The movement is not fully committed to Trump.
Coinbase head of policy Faryar Shirzad, who will also speak in DC, said in X that he “is happy to engage in many discussions with the Harris team.” He described the approach as “constructive” and said “dialogue was an important first step”.
While Harris has not officially disclosed her position on her crypto campaign, members of her team have been meeting with crypto industry leaders for months.
“I think we’ll be hearing from Vice President Harris soon on that,” Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina told CNBC in an interview in July on the sidelines of the year’s biggest bitcoin event in Nashville. “And I’m very optimistic that we will have a rebound. And that, I think, will matter a lot.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also told CNBC at the time that he was in dialogue with the Harris group on the matter.
Since then, Democrats have become more vocal. In a virtual town hall in August, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said a cryptocurrency bill could pass his chamber this year.
