The speakers and performers at the second night of the America Loves Crypto tour were just as impassioned and driven to get out the crypto vote as those from the first night of the tour.
The political figures and crypto industry leaders present at this event, which took place at The Space in Las Vegas, included Sonny Vinuya, Outreach Director for Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R); Rudy Pamintuan, Nevada Lieutenant Governor Stavros S. Anthony’s Chief of Staff (R); Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine (D) and Kate Rouch, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Coinbase, amongst others. Rapper and singer 070 Shake and Las Vegas-based DJ 3LAU performed at the event.
The common threads in the rhetoric of the speakers and performers at the event were that crypto is here to stay, Nevada will be a home for the crypto industry and that the crypto vote matters deeply in Nevada, a swing state with a population of just over 3.1 million in which the 2024 Presidential election vote differential was only 33,516.
“We need to ensure that our policymakers and the leaders we elect are those that embrace what we believe in,” Pamintuan, a crypto investor since 2015, told the audience.
“And so in this coming election cycle, especially here in Nevada, elections are going to be won or lost by 1 or 2 percentage points. That’s about 15,000 to 30,000 votes,” he added.
“When you add up how many people in our state are investors in crypto, that number is far greater than the margin of victory.”
Far greater is an understatement, as 385,000 Nevadans own crypto, according to the Stand With Crypto Alliance. This number was plastered across screens at the event for the entirety of the evening.
“In my business, we always say the market will decide,” began Conine.
“Well, guess what, folks? You’re the market, and your vote matters. Elections in this state are always very close, and they’re not close because everybody votes and both sides are even. They’re close because some people vote, but a lot of people stay home,” he added, before urging those in the audience who weren’t registered to vote to do so while stressing that the crypto vote can sway the ballot in upcoming elections at both the state and federal levels.
Rouch, a resident of Nevada, also issued a call to action from the stage.
“We need you guys this election,” she said.
“It is critically important to figure out where the politicians in your district, in the state, stand on crypto — to really ask them the hard questions — and to tell your friends and family to get out there and vote.”
“Las Vegas is a city of opportunity — above and beyond the casino floors,” shared Vinuya from the stage.
“Nevada is home to an emerging center of technology and financial innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth,” he added before citing that the Governor’s Office of Economic Development facilitated $5 billion in economic investment last year and that the state saw 4% job growth in the same time period.
Part of this trend was fueled by Nevada’s embrace of the crypto industry.
“Amidst all of these exciting achievements under the leadership of Governor Lombardo and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Nevada has also become a home for innovators in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency,” he explained.
Vinuya then pointed out that next year’s Bitcoin conference will be based in Las Vegas.
“Here in our state, we have a good concept coined by Governor Lombardo called ‘the Nevada way,’ which means that as Nevadans, we never give up, we never give in, and we never stop dreaming,” he concluded. “The spirit of the Nevada Way is alive and well in the Bitcoin community, and we welcome your innovation and big dreams in Nevada.”
According to Rouch, we’ve hit the point of no return with crypto, and politicians can no longer afford to not take a stance on the issue, which is why Coinbase supports the Stand With Crypto Alliance.
“What we’re really saying here is ‘pay attention,’” Rouch told Bitcoin Magazine. “This matters to a lot of voters.”
After citing that 52 million Americans of varied backgrounds, ethnicities and socioeconomic status now own crypto, Rouch explained that politicians, up the federal level, now see how big of an issue this is and are acting accordingly.
“We’ve seen undeniable change in Washington, DC over the last year from both parties,” she said.
“We had FIT21 pass in the House with a bipartisan vote. That was really unprecedented. We also have politicians making their statements on crypto known for the first time, and I feel very optimistic about that,” she added.
Rouch wasn’t the only speaker or performer at the event feeling optimistic.
Before beginning his DJ set, 3LAU told the story of how he met the Winklevoss twins, early bitcoin buyers and owners of the Gemini crypto exchange, at a gig a decade ago. He shared how they explained what Bitcoin was to him at that event, and that it gave him hope.
“Bitcoin changed my life, and it’s been that way for the past 10 years,” said 3LAU to the crowd before he started his DJ set.
“This election is probably the most important in my life. We have a choice to make: the future of the financial system or follow the legacy bullshit that we’ve had to put up with,” he added.
“And we’re all going to fucking vote for crypto.”
