On a 100-degree evening in Phoenix, Arizona crypto enthusiasts turned out in a frenzy for the first night of America loves cryptocurrencies a trip.
The tour organized by Stand with the Crypto AllianceA nonprofit organization aiming to get America’s 52 million cryptocurrency holders out to the polls in November will tour five swing states in the coming weeks, raising awareness of the importance of voting for candidates who support pro-crypto policies in the upcoming U.S. election.
On this evening in Arizona, politicians like Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Arizona House Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham (R) spoke to the audience alongside crypto industry founders before giving way to psychedelic soul beats. Black Panthers.
Message and margin
“Our biggest priority is to attract crypto voices,” Logan Dobson, executive director of Stand With Crypto, told Bitcoin Magazine.
“Our only issue is cryptocurrency. We’re not pushing for specific candidates. We’re not pushing for specific parties. We’re just looking for crypto votes,” he added.
“And I can tell you that in many of the swing states, there are more people who have signed up for Stand With Crypto than the margin of victory in 2020.”
Dobson’s last point is particularly evident in Arizona, where President Biden narrowly defeated former President Trump in the 2020 presidential election. About 10,500 votesThe Stand With Crypto campaign has nearly three times as many crypto supporters — 27,231 — as the number of voters who made up Biden’s winning margin in the previous election.
Encouragement from politicians
Senator Sinema opened the event, urging attendees to fearlessly vote for candidates who support pro-crypto policies.
“You are a real force in Arizona and it is important that we use this election cycle to ensure the voice of the crypto community is heard,” said Senator Sinema.
“We need to push for policies that fuel innovation so that the financial system works for ordinary people,” she added. “We need to make sure that candidates in all levels of office — state legislatures as well as the federal level — understand crypto and work to create a great political climate for crypto instead of one based on misinformation, fear, and outdated regulations that hold the industry back.”
Cinema concluded her short speech with what seemed like a light jab at Democrats, The party I left in December 2022.
“Don’t be afraid to support a candidate or elected official who is taking risks,” she said.
“You all understand the value of risk,” Cinema added. “The crypto industry wouldn’t exist without risk.”
“We want to look for candidates who are reasonable but willing to take risks and speak out against partisan rhetoric that tries to stop or slow innovation in this industry.”
After Cinema came Grantham, a supporter of the freedom that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies provide to their users.
Grantham didn’t shy away from talking about this, discussing how politicians are exploiting the US dollar by spending more of it than they have and printing more at will. He argued that it’s up to Gen Z and millennials in particular to vote for pro-crypto politicians to allow assets like Bitcoin to compete with the dollar. He was even more outspoken on the subject in a behind-the-scenes interview with Bitcoin Magazine.
“There is a large group of elected officials who believe that government is the solution to our monetary problems, that this financial recklessness doesn’t matter and that the dollar will be the end of the world forever — and that’s just a crazy way of thinking,” Grantham told Bitcoin Magazine.
“One of the reasons why (cryptocurrencies) are so popular is what we do with the dollar,” he added.
For this reason, Grantham felt it was imperative that voters support candidates who do not believe in regulating cryptocurrencies and putting them out of existence, and vote for politicians who support freedom rather than those who seek control.
“It’s an issue of freedom and control,” Grantham said.
“(Some politicians want to) control by keeping everyone tied to one currency and not letting anything else break through, which is what cryptocurrencies do. Competition is a good thing, especially when the person who controls the only thing abuses it so badly,” he concluded.
Founders don’t ask for much.
Next, a group of Arizona-based crypto founders took to the stage. The session featured Thor Abasi, co-founder of DeFi protocol ZivoGeorge Michael, VP of Operations at Bitcoin Magazine and co-organizer of arizona bitcoin network; and Shelton Biscuccia, co-founder of Devil’s Daw Standing with the head of the Crypto Arizona branch.
Industry leaders have asked for nothing more than clear rules of the road from the U.S. government so they can conduct their business on land and in compliance. In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Abbasi discussed the concerns cryptocurrency founders have faced about unfair treatment by federal regulators under the Biden administration.
“One of the hardest things for our project is[figuring out]how the industry can interact with banks,” Abbasi told Bitcoin Magazine.
“We’ve probably all heard about Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” he added, referring to the government’s unconstitutional crackdown on the politically unfavorable but illegal crypto industry, which has led to the cancellation of banking services for many crypto companies.
“If we had regulation that described what crypto companies had to do in order to be able to get funding, that would be very helpful.”
Michael concluded the spoken portion of the night’s programming on a high note, highlighting that the crypto industry has made significant progress, which is only likely to gain momentum moving forward.
“Think about where we were four years ago,” Michael said.
“We couldn’t have seen something like this happen,” he added. “The fact that 15% of Americans own some form of cryptocurrency is crazy, especially when you think about what will happen four years from now.”
“We have momentum. Events and demonstrations like this show us that we do have a voice that matters.”
The second date of the America Loves Crypto Tour is scheduled for tonight, September 5, at The Space in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can RSVP to the event here.