Congressman Wiley Nickel On Reforming The Democrats’ Bitcoin Strategy

On the main stage of Bitcoin 2024, Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC) shared that he’s working to have the Democrats shift to a more pro-Bitcoin and pro-crypto stance.

He told the audience at the event that he’d recently written a letter to the DNC signed by 28 Democrats, 14 of which are in Congress, advocating for a new approach to digital asset policy from the party and its presidential nominee.

Rep. Nickel explained that the new approach should include “pro-digital asset language in the party’s platform, selecting a vice presidential candidate sophisticated in digital asset policy, selecting a pro-innovation SEC chair, and engaging with the industry in a meaningful way.”

We followed up with Rep. Nickel in efforts to learn more about how he plans to get the Democrats on the Bitcoin bandwagon.

A transcript of our conversation, edited for length and clarity, follows below.

Frank Corva: What were your takeaways from the Bitcoin conference?

Rep. Wiley Nickel: I had a great time. I enjoyed speaking with folks involved with this issue at all levels and, most importantly, making the progressive case for crypto and why the work that we're doing as Democrats in Congress is so important.

Keeping this in the bipartisan space was really my main focus in Nashville, and it’s what I've been working on in Congress. If this becomes a partisan political football — and Donald Trump, more than anyone, wants to politicize this issue — it's going to set the industry back a decade in Congress.

DeFi and Bitcoin will continue regardless of who's in power, but it's really important that we get clear rules of the road, we have good regulation for the industry to protect consumers and to keep those jobs here and encourage innovation. That has been my focus in Congress, and I was glad I got to reiterate that in Nashville.

Corva: I think it is important for more middle-of-the-road Democrats like yourself to have a voice. Do you feel like there are more Democrats like you who do want to speak like this, who want to say they’ll keep Bitcoin and crypto jobs in the United States and that they want the US to be at the forefront of financial innovation?

Rep. Nickel: I do, because, frankly, we're just right on the issue. Talking about financial inclusion is incredibly important. The current financial system just doesn't work for everyone, and we have an incredibly promising solution here with crypto and Bitcoin that will help the folks I represent in a major way.

I think we're seeing a new perspective on digital asset regulation emerging in the Democratic Party. Whether you love crypto or hate it, it's here to stay. So, we have to protect consumers, foster innovation and bolster US competitiveness. Those are the big issues that matter in a public policy sense.

We're working hard to build a coalition of like-minded Democrats across our party. We've succeeded in encouraging the Harris campaign to engage with industry, and I'm continuing to make the case for a reset.

The progress we made in the House of Representatives is undeniable: 71 Democrats joined with Republicans on FIT21, the digital asset market structure bill. Actions speak louder than words. The fact that I was able to get Nancy Pelosi and members of our House Democratic leadership on board with this bill says good things for keeping the future of Bitcoin in that bipartisan space.

Corva: That is an important and good reason for single issue voters or pro-crypto voters to consider voting for Democrats more if that's their stance in these upcoming elections. Is there anything else that you want to say to pro-Bitcoin or pro-crypto voters to let them know that the Democrats do not want to be the party that stifles this innovation. Can these voters believe that things will be different than they have been over the course of the last three and a half years?

Rep. Nickel: Absolutely, and I thought it was important to author a letter to the DNC and to the Harris campaign, which I announced in Nashville from the stage. It's a letter encouraging the DNC to include pro-digital asset language in the party's platform, to appoint a pro-innovation SEC chair, and for the campaign to engage with industry experts. Those were some of the big points in the letter.

We've got 13 other House Democrats to join the letter, and a lot more support it. I wanted to put that out there so folks know that this is an important issue. You've got 20% of registered voters who own crypto, and there are well over a million single issue voters, so we need to continue to offer good public policy positions on the issue. I think we're gonna see that from the Harris campaign in the coming weeks.

Corva: Looking back on the most practical level, what do you think the Democrats might have been able to do differently or better during the Biden administration?

Rep. Nickel: On the positive side, we have bitcoin and ether ETFs that the SEC approved, So, I can't disagree with that. We worked in Congress hard to get the SEC to do that in a bipartisan way on the House Financial Services Committee, where I serve. I'm also on the Subcommittee on Digital Assets. We deal with this issue a lot in the House.

But Gary Gensler's regulation by enforcement approach at the SEC has not served Kamala Harris's interests or Joe Biden's. Gary Gensler has taken the wrong approach, but he's not the only voice in the Biden administration. There are a lot of other senior leaders who feel very differently. A lot of other regulators like Rostin Behnam at the CFTC have a different approach. So, we've got one regulator who is moving in the wrong direction, but it’s important for folks to know that he does not represent all Democrats.

Corva: Are Democratic senators and members of Congress learning about the positive use cases of Bitcoin? This includes financial inclusion; providing financial services to the unbanked, not only in the United States, but globally; cheap remittances; etc. Do you find that politicians are becoming more educated?

Rep. Nickel: Number one, it's just about education. The folks that supported FIT21 on the Democratic side were the ones who were engaged, who were willing to take meetings and listen, understand and learn about this very new technology.

This is not the same place that we were four years ago, eight years ago or 12 years ago. To your point, you’re 100% right. You've got 1.4 billion people unbanked globally, and most of these people are part of marginalized communities. This hinders their financial management and deepens poverty and inequality. There is a very strong progressive case for how crypto can revolutionize financial inclusion, economic empowerment and offer new ways to build wealth outside of the traditional financial system.

Corva: Thinking beyond the borders of the United States, Bitcoin bestows property rights — something we have strong laws to protect here in the US — by default on people. This is powerful in places where people don’t have such rights. Will more progressives come out to acknowledge that this is important?

Rep. Nickel: I certainly hope so. That's been my focus in Congress. We need to embrace new technology. You look back on the Internet and to think that you would have people in one political party opposing the Internet in the 90s, it's just nuts to think about.

When you look back in a decade and the opposition to embracing Web3 in Congress — that position will not age well. The folks who oppose crypto on the Democrat side are just flat out wrong, and they're not really looking at how we can strengthen this industry and protect consumers.

I spent most of the last year and a half talking about how our legislation in Congress will prevent the next FTX. That's an important part for Americans to focus on.

I went on a CODEL (Congressional Delegation) with Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the Chair of the House of Financial Services Committee. We went to Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Tokyo to see mature crypto regulation, regulators and markets. One of the things they all said is they need the US to be part of the solution here. They need the United States to lead for the rest of the world.

This really is about democratizing finance. When we do that, we're going to be able to uplift people all over the US when they are able to save money and transfer money. They'll be able to do it much faster, with less red tape. Those are really good things if you're talking about uplifting people in the US and around the globe with Bitcoin and other Web3 or blockchain technology.

Corva: One of the big things that Bitcoiners are worried about — and it's something that both presidential candidates Trump and Kennedy have spoken directly to — is the idea of being able to hold your own private keys without any sort of AML/KYC requirements. Are Democrats in favor of everyone being able to hold their own keys in a non-custodial manner?

Rep. Nickel: In Congress, we've really focused on doing a few things before we get into the next level of stuff. It's about regulating the industry, FIT21, the digital assets market structure bill and stablecoins. We've gotten sidetracked with SAB121 for custodial banking.

Those are the things that I think we need to tackle first, and then we get into the next layer of stuff, and I'm really hopeful we're going to get those things done this Congress.

Corva: Two days after the Bitcoin conference, some of the bitcoin in custody of the US government moved addresses. Do you know where the government moved it to? Is the US government selling it? Have you heard anything about what’s going on?

Rep. Nickel: No, I haven't.

Corva: Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share?

Rep. Nickel: We're just pushing hard for a reset with the Harris campaign on this issue. Trump certainly made his positions clear.

I'm just pushing to make sure that folks who own crypto — evenly split between parties — know this is an issue that matters for Democrats in the US Congress.