Politicizing crypto is a "huge danger," Anthony Scaramucci says

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Can we make crypto a bipartisan issue?

One of the biggest conversations across the crypto industry right now is surrounding whether or not the industry should be politicized.

In recent history, the former President Donald Trump has taken a positive stance toward the crypto industry: launching multiple NFT collections, speaking positively about regulating the digital asset sector and endorsing his two sons’ crypto project “The DeFiant Ones.”

While Kamala Harris’ crypto stance is “still a blank page,” as Bloomberg reported.

Although many crypto-centric Americans have already taken the pro-crypto side ahead of the US Presidential Election in November, others are urging people to take a step back and rethink their decision.

“I want the industry to be bipartisan and I want there to be committed bipartisanship to the regulatory process,” Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge and founder and chairman of SALT, said on the Talking Tokens podcast.

“When it’s bipartisan, it takes the politics out of it.”

(Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.)

Scaramucci shared he has been to two White House staff-related meetings, alongside elected Republican and Democrat officials and Mark Cuban, Mike Novogratz and Brad Garlinghouse. All these people want bipartisan commitment for “good legislation to help out the industry,” Scaramucci said.

“It would be a huge danger if we make this a partisan issue because if it becomes a Donald Trump-only issue, there will be democrats that won’t support it just because he is supporting it and vice versa. So we have to be very careful of that now.”

Scaramucci recounted that U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said he wants comprehensive legislation for the industry.

This would include sectors like stablecoins, exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase as well as provide clarity to the Fed about what the gov is willing to “bank in the US” related to crypto, Scaramucci said.

As it was, one of the regulatory problems crypto faced throughtout the Biden administration was “Sam-Bankman Fried related,” Scaramucci, who once was closely tied to the now convicted former FTX CEO, said.

“In order to eclipse the closeness he had to [Gary Gensler and Elizabeth Warren] they went on a regulatory jihad against the entire industry,” he added. “It was a way for them to obfuscate how close they were to giving him regulatory authority.”

“They swung the pendulum against good actors like Coinbase,” Scaramucci said. “They went hard against the industry unfairly.”

Now, it’s important for people to take a step back and think long term, Scaramucci said.

Check out the next section for more details and the full episode.

The latest Talking Tokens podcast 🎙️

For this week’s Thursday episode, I sat down with Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge and founder and chairman of SALT.

Jacquelyn and Anthony talk about bitcoin, institutional interest in digital assets, SALT’s recent Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, the policy and regulatory situation over the crypto industry and more.

Talking Tokens episodes are released on Spotify and Apple Podcasts at 6AM EST or YouTube at 10AM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen in!

Make sure to subscribe to keep up with the latest episodes. Feel free to leave a review and tell us your thoughts.

Monitoring blockchains

Looking at some of the biggest developments onchain.

• Base surpasses 1 million daily active addresses following launch of “basenames”

• Matchain launches its mainnet, built on the OP Stack and powered by the BNB chain

• Liquid staking bitcoin stBTC is live for minting on Mezo Network

• About 43% of YTD scam inflows have gone to wallets that became active this year, according to a new mid-year crime report from Chainalysis (chart below)

  

  Source: Chainalysis

Taking on the tokens 

The total crypto market cap was unchanged on the day at $2.11 trillion. It is down 2.31% over a 7-day period.

As for the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap…

These metrics were taken prior to publication on Thursday morning EST.

Other numbers we’re eyeing…

• $2.53B — that’s how much Celsius Network has repaid out to about 251,000 eligible creditors, amid its bankruptcy process, according to a court filing.

Money and people moves

Latest updates on crypto startups that secured funding, capital flows and industry players who are starting something new.

1. Space and Time Labs raised $20M in Series A funding led by Framework Ventures

2. Jordan Sutcliffe joins Symbiotic as a business development lead

3. Li Jin announces transition from general partner to advisor at Variant Fund

4. Sorella Labs raised $7.5M in a seed round led by Paradigm to build sustainable onchain markets

5. Solayer raised $12M in a round led by Polychain Capital to create a restaking network on Solana

Talking points for the road 

Here’s some headlines and topics that you can talk about at your next dinner party, crypto event or on a first date to look smart (results may vary.) 

1. Binance CEO Calls for US Intervention Days Ahead of Exec's Trial in Nigeria (Decrypt)

2. Spot bitcoin ETFs see eighth day of inflows, led by BlackRock's $224 million (The Block)

3. How Telegram founder’s arrest echoes Tornado Cash prosecutions (DL News)

4. U.S. SEC Charges Two Brothers in $60M Ponzi Scam Using a Crypto Platform (CoinDesk)

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Please note that this content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Any views shared should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research. We may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned in this newsletter.