Rep. Wiley Nickel Blasts Trump In Crypto For Harris Town Hall

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Julia Smith

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Julia Smith

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Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.

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Last updated:

August 15, 2024 01:08 EDT

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Congressman Wiley Nickel (D-NC) blasted Republican nominee Donald Trump for flipping his stance on crypto, according to a recent appearance by the U.S. lawmaker at Wednesday night’s Crypto For Harris town hall.

Rep. Wiley Nickel Slams Donald Trump At Crypto For Harris Event

“There’s only one person who’s running for president who has called crypto a scam and that’s Donald Trump,” Nickel told viewers tuned in for the Democratic crypto collective’s first town hall. The remark seemingly calls out the former reality television star’s 2019 X posts delegitimizing digital assets.

“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” Trump wrote. “Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….”

“Donald Trump is just totally full of sh-t,” Nickel continued. “If you don’t believe me, ask his vice president and he’ll tell you the same thing.”

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, has received criticism across the political spectrum for formerly condemning the controversial political figure before ultimately changing his stance.

The novel political duo have struggled against presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her V.P. pick Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in recent polls, trailing behind the one-time prosecutor’s campaign by nearly three percent.

Crypto A Hot Button Issue Ahead Of U.S. Presidential Election

While Trump has widely embraced cryptocurrencies during the leadup to November, Harris has remained tight-lipped on the subject.

However, the newfound Democratic crypto collective, Crypto For Harris, is rallying left-leaning leaders to encourage progressive regulatory frameworks across the blockchain sector as a whole.

Nickel, for instance, has largely advocated for crypto-friendly regulation during his time in office as a member of the digital assets subcommittee of the House Financial Service Committee.

Most recently, he served as a co-sponsor to the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and helped to lead congressional efforts in voting to overturn the United State’s Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) controversial staff accounting bulletin known as SAB121.

“If you’re online in spaces where people talk about crypto regulation, you might see a lot of talk about Trump,” Nickel said. “But, we’re here to break that narrative because digital assets and blockchain technology is not a partisan issues. Turning this into political football is only going to set us back decades in Congress.”