How Crypto Played the Political Game—and Won 'Bigly' - Ep. 734

Nov 12, 2024

Faryar Shirzad and Kara Calvert from Coinbase dive into how the 2024 elections are reshaping the crypto landscape in Washington. They share insights on the Fairshake Super PAC's bold strategies, which led to a more crypto-friendly Congress. The discussion highlights the need for bipartisan support and regulatory clarity in the crypto space. They also explore the challenges of maintaining a non-partisan stance and the implications of global blockchain adoption on U.S. leadership in Web3 innovation.

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ANECDOTE

Crypto Grassroots Growth

Coinbase's initial grassroots effort, Crypto 435, had 25,000 sign-ups.
This grew to nearly 2 million with Stand With Crypto, demonstrating the power of community engagement.

INSIGHT

Fairshake vs. Stand With Crypto

Fairshake, a super PAC, and Stand With Crypto, a regular PAC, are separate entities.
Fairshake focuses on direct candidate spending, while Stand With Crypto mobilizes voters non-partisanly.

ANECDOTE

Fairshake's Early Impact

Fairshake's early support for Adam Schiff in California and other House races demonstrated crypto's political power.
Their strategic spending, including against Katie Porter, signaled their seriousness.

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The 2024 elections have reshaped the future of crypto in Washington. With almost $200 million in donations, the Fairshake Super PAC not only backed pro-crypto candidates but also took bold risks by challenging entrenched incumbents. This strategic gamble appears to have paid off, leading to the most crypto-friendly Congress in U.S. history.

In this episode, Coinbase’s Faryar Shirzad and Kara Calvert reveal the behind-the-scenes decisions that drove this unprecedented effort, discuss why crypto needs to transcend partisanship, and explain how this election could usher in long-awaited regulatory clarity. They also delve into the global stakes of blockchain adoption and whether the U.S. can reclaim its leadership as other nations surge ahead in Web3 innovation.

Show highlights:

01:48 The journey of how crypto became so important in this election
04:16 The differences between Fairshake and Stand With Crypto
08:48 How Fairshake decided which candidates to support
12:48 How Washington reacted to the massive influx of money to support pro-crypto candidates
15:51 Why Fairshake stayed out of the Presidential race
18:23 How hard it was for Fairshake to handle its non-partisan stance with both parties
22:32 How the U.S.’s approach to crypto can be compared to how it lost on the cutting-edge technologies of 5G and semiconductors
26:41 What drove the decision to attempt to unseat Sherrod Brown, which ended up giving Sen. Warren more power on the Senate Banking Committee
32:54 Whether Sen. Warren’s anti-crypto stance has been diminished after the elections
35:28 How the industry got past the fiasco of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX
42:07 Why Faryar believes that “anyone would be an upgrade” from Gary Gensler as Chair of the SEC
46:45 How blockchain technology allows for instant settlements, a feature so needed in capital markets
49:36 What could happen with the SEC’s legal actions against crypto companies now that Gensler will lose his position as SEC chair
53:22 What Faryar and Kara expect the new administration to do around crypto
56:47 How DeFi can be regulated in the U.S. and whether Trump will support the motto “code is free speech”
1:01:37 The perception of Washington insiders about Polymarket
1:04:28 Whether the technology sector will be on the Republican side from now on

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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Guests:

Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer
Kara Calvert, Coinbase Head of US Policy

Links

Previous coverage of the elections on the podcast:

Unchained:

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