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The Mooch, Andrew Yang and the tipping point of cryptocurrencies
Happy Friday everyone. I spent yesterday at the Future of Finance in New York, a one-day event where Fortune brought together big names in traditional finance Black rock and Apollo, and newer players like it PayPal and Robinhood. At the crypto panel of the day, which he presented CoinBase, Grayscale and Ripple: I was struck by how corporate executives turned out to be part of the financial sector rather than, as has been the case in years past, fringe challengers. The most extraordinary moment regarding cryptocurrencies, however, was our dinner keynote with Andrew Yang and Anthony “the Mooch” Scaramucci.
Both men walked the highest corridors of US political power. Yang was a leading candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, while Scaramucci had a brief but memorable stint in the White House as Donald Trump’s communications director. Since then, both have become strong supporters of cryptocurrencies. Yang shared his bizarre but compelling vision that involves using blockchain as part of a larger time banking system that would compensate Americans for a wide variety of jobs, such as child care, that currently do not they are paid: a system that he believes will become essential at a time when artificial intelligence is poised to eliminate millions of jobs.
Scaramucci, who is a cryptocurrency investor through his hedge fund, made the political case for blockchain, pointing out that tens of millions of Americans already own it. He added that the current position of President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders makes little sense because, even if the number of people who would vote on the basis of cryptocurrencies is relatively small, these are still votes the party could garner on a line harsh anti-cryptocurrency. -crypto position that doesn’t earn them any new votes.
Their comments came at a time when a growing number of Democrats feel the same way. On Friday, 11 senators bucked their party’s official position to join Republicans in passing a bill aimed at overturning SEC accounting guidelines that make it impracticable for banks to hold cryptocurrencies. Among them were Majority Leader Charles Schumer and his fellow New York senator and Wall Street ally Kirsten Gillibrand.
Biden has signaled he will veto the bill but, given how the tide is changing even within his own party – not to mention poll numbers that suggest he is on track to lose the election – it wouldn’t be surprising if it changed course. In recent months, it appears that cryptocurrencies have reached a tipping point in the United States and that efforts by the White House and their progressive allies to completely crush them are doomed to fail. When times change, the smart move for elected officials is usually to change with them.
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Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com