How Crypto Played the Political Game—and Won 'Bigly'

The crypto industry, through Super PAC Fairshake, put more money into the 2024 elections than any industry has in the past. What could the industry get for its efforts? 🔥 EPISODE LINK 🔥 CHECK OUT THE EPISODE LINKS AND DETAILS HERE 👉 unchainedcrypto.com/podcast/ho... 👈 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: 🔹 The journey of how crypto became so important in this election 🔹 The differences between Fairshake and Stand With Crypto 🔹 How Fairshake decided which candidates to support 🔹 How Washington reacted to the massive influx of money to support pro-crypto candidates 🔹 Why Fairshake stayed out of the Presidential race 🔹 How hard it was for Fairshake to handle its non-partisan stance with both parties 🔹 How the U.S.’s approach to crypto can be compared to how it lost on the cutting-edge technologies of 5G and semiconductors 🔹 What drove the decision to attempt to unseat Sherrod Brown, which ended up giving Sen. Warren more power on the Senate Banking Committee 🔹 Whether Sen. Warren’s anti-crypto stance has been diminished after the elections 🔹 How the industry got past the fiasco of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX 🔹 Why Faryar believes that “anyone would be an upgrade” from Gary Gensler as Chair of the SEC 🔹 How blockchain technology allows for instant settlements, a feature so needed in capital markets 🔹 What could happen with the SEC’s legal actions against crypto companies now that Gensler will lose his position as SEC chair 🔹 What Faryar and Kara expect the new administration to do around crypto 🔹 How DeFi can be regulated in the U.S. and whether Trump will support the motto “code is free speech” 🔹 The perception of Washington insiders about Polymarket 🔹 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 Thank you to our sponsors! ➡️ Polkadot polkadot.network/ecosystem/com... ➡️ Robinhood & Arbitrum robinhood.com/web3-wallet ➡️ iYield http:/iyield.com Guests: ⭐️ Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer ⭐️ Kara Calvert, Coinbase Head of US Policy Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:48 How crypto became a key issue in the 2024 elections 04:16 Fairshake & Stand With Crypto: What’s the difference? 08:48 How Fairshake identifies pro-crypto candidates 12:48 Washington’s reaction to Fairshake’s gamble 15:51 Why Fairshake avoided the presidential race 18:23 Balancing non-partisanship in a divided political landscape 22:32 How the U.S.’s approach to crypto was reminiscent of how it lost 5G and semiconductors 26:41 Why Fairshake wanted to unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown 32:54 Has Sen. Warren toned down her anti-crypto stance? 35:28 How the industry rebounded after the FTX collapse 42:07 Why “anyone” might be better than Gensler at the SEC 46:45 Blockchain’s role in instant settlements for capital markets 49:36 What’s next for legal actions against crypto firms post-Gensler? 53:22 What the new administration could mean for crypto 56:47 Will Trump back “code is free speech” for DeFi regulation? 1:01:37 Washington’s take on Polymarket’s influence 1:04:28 Is the tech sector now aligned with Republicans? _______________________________________________________ #bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #cryptocurrencies ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Subscribe to our channel! CHECK OUT THE CRYPTOPIANS → www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFzunC... WEBSITE → unchainedcrypto.com UNCHAINED DAILY NEWSLETTER → unchainedcrypto.substack.com LAURA'S TWITTER → twitter.com/laurashin UNCHAINED TWITTER → twitter.com/unchained_pod FACEBOOK → www.facebook.com/unchainedwith... INSTAGRAM → www.instagram.com/laurashin/?h... LINKEDIN → www.linkedin.com/in/laurashin MERCHANDISE → unchainedpodcast.company.site YOUR NO-HYPE RESOURCE FOR ALL THINGS CRYPTO!