Schumer says a crypto bill can pass Senate this year; key Dems join 'Crypto4Harris' call

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he believes the Senate can realistically pass a bipartisan crypto regulation bill before the end of the year, giving fresh hope to an industry that has been stuck in legislative limbo for years.

"Passing legislation this year is absolutely possible, even in these divided times," Schumer said during a virtual town hall event to help raise money for the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Dubbed "Crypto4Harris," the event featured billionaire Mark Cuban and Schumer's fellow New York senator, Kristen Gillibrand, as well as Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Stabenow chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, where a bipartisan crypto bill is working its way through the committee.

Two Democrats running for Senate seats also joined the event: Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running to replace the retiring Stabenow in Michigan and Rep. Adam Schiff, the favorite to win an open seat in California. Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Rep. Wiley Nickel, N.C., were also on the call.

"Why are we here today? Because we all support Vice President Kamala Harris to be our next president, and we all believe in the future of crypto," said Schumer.

"My goal when it comes to crypto regulation is this: I want to bring members on both sides of the aisle here in the Senate together... so we can pass sensible legislation that helps the United States maintain its status as the most innovative country in the world," he added.

Schumer's overall support for crypto isn't new — he joined Republicans earlier this year to overturn regulatory guidelines that the industry said were too onerous. But his ringing endorsement of digital currencies on Wednesday went further than many on Capitol Hill had expected to hear from him.

"Crypto is here to stay no matter what. So Congress must get it right," he said.

Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, hosted the evening event, the latest in a series of zoom calls and town halls intended to raise money and consolidate support for Harris among different constituencies.

Harris did not join the online event, but many members of her party chimed in to reassure the crypto sector writ large that a potential Harris administration would be supportive of creating a regulatory framework for the industry that would help foster innovation at home.

Gillibrand said in a pre-taped address that a future Harris administration would "understand" and "facilitate" a "balanced approach" to regulating the sector.

More than 70 House Democrats crossed the aisle in support of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act which passed the House this May. It heads to the Senate next. 

Schumer has yet to indicate which of the bills under consideration he plans to throw his weight behind. But Stabenow's presence with Schumer at Wednesday's town hall could be a hint that Schumer is leaning towards Stabenow's legislation.

In the last few months, the token-savvy voting bloc has emerged as a key player in the 2024 elections, both at the presidential level and in key Senate races.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is newly catering to the crypto sector in public addresses on the campaign trail. He also headlined the biggest bitcoin event of the year in Nashville last month after spending years dismissing both bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying that tokens aren't money and that their value is "based on thin air."

Harris has not yet voiced her official views on crypto but Representatives Ro Khanna, D-Ca., and Nickel, D-N.C., both told CNBC on the sidelines of this year's flagship bitcoin conference in Tennessee that they were in direct dialogue with the Harris campaign team on this topic.

"I think we're going to hear from Vice President Harris soon on this. And I'm very optimistic we're gonna get a reset. And that I think, will matter in a major way," Rep. Nickel previously told CNBC. "This issue isn't going anywhere. And we've got to make sure we continue to embrace this in bipartisan way."

The race to curry favor with the pro-crypto electorate coincides with the sector pouring tens of millions of dollars into key races.

The pro crypto super PAC Fairshake committed earlier on Wednesday to donating $3 million each to Slotkin and to Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for a seat in battleground Arizona.

Both are running tough Senate races against Trump-endorsed candidates — seats which could ultimately decide whether Schumer and his party hold on to the majority.

Fairshake's financial backing of Democratic candidates in these races apparently angered top Republicans "who viewed the industry as an ally, not an opponent," according to an NBC report.

BlackRock's Head of Digital Assets, Robert Mitchnick, told CNBC that the "biggest thing" he's seen in 2024 is that crypto is "not only is being viewed as a more legitimate and important issue" but that this transformation has also become more bipartisan in nature.