In the middle of the sea among the American flags and ubiquitous blue signs at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week was Jonathan Padilla, the “Crypto Man.”
Wearing a baseball cap and a conspicuous pineapple print shirt, Padilla roamed the halls of the convention, talking crypto politics to anyone willing to listen. In a selfie posted on Facebook, he posed with his arm around Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware. “Senator Coons now knows about crypto,” the caption reads.
Padilla is delighted with his new moniker “cryptocurrency,” appropriated by fellow DNC delegates, which he sees as an implicit acknowledgment that cryptocurrency has arrived on the political agenda. “Four years ago, crypto was a non-issue and no one was talking about it,” says Padilla. “But now President Trump is talking about it at major conferences. And it’s being discussed by some of the most senior Democrats.
Padilla is the founder of crypto marketing company Snickerdoodle Labs and was previously the constant blockchain whisperer at PayPal. He is also one of the organizers of Crypto4Harris, a coalition of Democratic-supporting crypto industry members whose goal is to encourage Kamala Harris to support crypto-specific legislation and demonstrate that the sector “is not monolithically Republican,” Padilla says.
On August 14, Crypto4Harris hosted a virtual town hall attended by prominent Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said he “believes in the future of crypto.” The group has also “made progress,” Padilla claimed, with “the finance and policy people” in Harris’ camp.
The group’s access to Harris’ team reflects a sea change in attitudes toward crypto among US politicians, who seem to have accepted that there is a bloc of voters who will vote exclusively based on which candidate will send their investments to the moon. (You know, forget about immigration and health care and the rest.) Not to mention the huge donations that the crypto business is throwing around.
Following the 2024 rise in crypto prices, crypto firms have invested an “unprecedented” amount to influence the outcome of this year’s US election, an analysis by consumer advocacy NGO Public Citizen suggests. Despite its relatively small size in terms of revenue – and a continued dearth of use cases outside of financial speculation – the crypto business accounted for 48 percent of all corporate contributions this election cycle.
The crypto industry has put some money into the race in 2020. But there is a new urgency and force to his attempt to intervene in the 2024 campaign. “The industry believes these choices are existential,” said Veronica McGregor, chief legal officer at crypto wallet company Exodus, speaking in the personal capacity of an industry veteran. “No matter who takes office, change must happen in order for our industry to thrive as it should.”
