Biden adviser, crypto leaders and lawmakers discuss industry's future at exclusive D.C. roundtable

A group of crypto heavyweights, lawmakers and an advisor to President Joe Biden gathered Wednesday morning at a roundtable in a ballroom at the ritzy Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. to hash out frustrations and talk about steps forward.

The objective of the meeting, hosted by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.,  was to sit down with the Biden administration as a group and have open dialogue, said Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Sheila Warren.

"Many people, myself included, remarked as we left that we were feeling better coming out than we did going in," Warren told The Block. It was a very productive meeting, she added.

The meeting was less Q&A style and instead was opened by Khanna, then billionaire Mark Cuban gave some remarks, followed by government and the crypto industry leaders' thoughts, Warren said. Anita Dunn, senior advisor to President Biden was there in her personal capacity, crypto industry leaders said, as well as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo. Bitcoin Magazine first reported that the meeting was taking place.

As elections near, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has touted his support for the crypto industry and has said he would stop "Joe Biden's crusade to crush crypto." President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, meanwhile, has been reaching out to members of the crypto industry for guidance on digital asset policies, according to reporting from The Block. That marks a significant shift from the Biden administration's less-than-favorable stance on crypto.

Dunn's presence was a big deal, Warren said.

"She was very engaged, actively notetaking, all of that kind of stuff," Warren said. "For a government official at that level to be that engaged for over an hour … that is pretty amazing and unusual."

Topics ranged from debanking to actions taken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to the agency's staff accounting bulletin on the custody of digital assets, Warren said.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who also attended the meeting, said he hoped it was a "first step in moving from words to actual action," in a post on X.

"Unfortunately, the majority of Dems continue to enable Gensler’s unlawful war on crypto - sabotaging the ability for American innovation to thrive," Garlinghouse said. "It’s no wonder the GOP has announced a pro-crypto stance. Gensler will go down as the Luddite of his time. Words are easy, action is hard but necessary. Choose wisely. Voters are paying attention."

In the meeting

During the meeting, they also talked about the need for the Biden administration to engage with the crypto industry, especially ahead of upcoming elections, Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase, told The Block.

"It was largely a listen-and-learn dynamic," Grewal said.

"Ms. Dunn took over an hour of her time to sit with 30 or 40 of us and patiently listened, asked questions and expressed real commitment to continuing this dialogue as opposed to just thanking us for our time and sending us out the door," Grewal added.

Grewal said the crypto industry called for the White House to support legislation, not litigation. Lawmakers have moved forward with some legislation, most notably FIT21,  a crypto market structure bill that was voted on by the full House 279-136 in May, with 71 Democrats voting in support.

"The White House has a very concrete specific opportunity to support those efforts and ultimately sign whatever comes through the process, so that's the most important thing we emphasized," said Grewal.

What's next

Cuban said he could see some changes from Democrats following the meeting.

"Ro did a great job of putting together the right people," Cuban said in an email to The Block. "I think it went well. Everyone was candid and I got the sense we could see some changes from the democrats."

The crypto industry needs a "strong, unequivocal statement" from the administration about the importance of the industry and the technology, CCI's Warren said.

"I don't think that neutrality is going to be the right move here," Warren said. "I think there needs to be just a strong statement of support."

During the roundtable, Coinbase-initated Stand with Crypto spoke with senators on the Hill in an effort to get legislation to regulate the crypto industry. Small crypto business founders and other crypto stakeholders also joined. 

Updated at 9:30 p.m. UTC on July 10 to include details about Stand with Crypto