Wylie Nickel, a moderate Democrat who is serving his first term as representative for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, said in an on-stage interview at the Bitcoin 2024 conference that he and his party members wrote a letter to party leaders asking them to include more support for cryptocurrencies in the party’s platform.
“This letter, sent to 28 elected Democrats, including 14 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Ro Khanna (D-CA), calls on the DNC and the next Democratic presidential candidate to do four things: include language supporting digital assets in their party’s platform, select a vice presidential candidate who is well-versed in digital asset policy, select an SEC chair who supports innovation, and engage with industry in a meaningful way,” Nickel said to applause from the conference audience.
Nickel spent a lot of time on stage with host Jason Meyer, author of “Progressives for Bitcoin,” touting a bipartisan approach to cryptocurrency issues, likely in an attempt to woo cryptocurrency holders who see the Republican Party’s policies as more favorable to cryptocurrencies after Donald Trump chose Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate.
“We’ve been working very hard behind the scenes, having high-level meetings with the vice president’s office, with the campaign, to get a reset. Vice President Harris understands this, her husband understands this, and I think we’re going to see a reset that will be a big deal in this space,” Nickel continued. “The future has to be bipartisan. If you politicize this, you’re just going to poison the well in Congress for 10 years.”
As for Trump himself, Nickel has had some sharp comments about the former president’s past anti-Bitcoin stance.
“He’s made all these bad claims. He’s said (cryptocurrencies) facilitate illegal activities, including drugs and illegal activities, and in 2021 he called it a fraud,” Nickel said as the audience began to boo. “Let me say something, folks, and I want to say it as politely and respectfully as I can: Donald Trump has been president for four years, has done absolutely nothing about this issue, and now he’s talking complete bullshit,” Nickel said.
“That’s really brave of you,” Meyer said, to laughter from the audience. “Donald Trump, like any other politician, can change his mind on this issue, and you have to remember that that’s exactly what’s happening,” Meyer continued, drawing a cheering response from the audience.
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