On March 11, 2025, Rep. Ro Khanna gave a short but impactful talk at the Bitcoin Policy Institute’s Bitcoin for America summit.

“Bitcoin is transformational for so many people around the world,” Rep. Khanna stated at the summit. “That is why the Democratic Party should be embracing it as something that can create financial empowerment for people not just in the United States, but around the world.”

This is the type of message he’s been spreading for years now, and he’s urged his fellow Democrats to follow his lead. He’s implored them to not be scared of Bitcoin but to view it just as they view other major technological advancements of our time, including the internet itself.

“My goal is to make Bitcoin bipartisan,” Rep. Khanna told Bitcoin Magazine. “I want to convince Democrats that bitcoin is a next-generation store of value that millions of people around the world use and that America showing leadership on it allows us to connect with these people, often some of the most disenfranchised.”

For a party that often advocates for financial inclusion, it seems almost ironic that so many Democrats have looked past Bitcoin, an open-source technology that anyone can use with nothing more than an internet connection (and, in some cases, even without one).

With that said, Rep. Khanna made the point that, while he remains one of the few more vocal Democrats when it comes to being pro-Bitcoin, the number of Democratic politicians who have stated that they’re in favor of the technology has increased substantially over the past few years.

“We went from just 10 of us or so supporting Bitcoin and crypto to almost 70 or 80,” said Rep. Khanna. “It’s happening slowly.”

And while some have attributed to malice most Democrats’ historical stance on Bitcoin, Rep. Khanna claims the issue is more a lack of understanding of the technology’s purpose and use cases.

“Some Democratic politicians are not aware of how helpful Bitcoin can be with remittances or how it can be used by those who don’t have access to U.S. dollars,” said the congressman. “Many people around the world use it for both reasons,” he added, alluding to the idea that many, including some Democrats, might not be aware of this fact.

The Bitcoin And Crypto Voting Bloc In U.S. Swing States

According to research from Coinbase, in each of the swing states in the most recent U.S. presidential election, there were about 10 times the number of crypto holders compared to the vote differential between Biden and Trump in 2020.

Harris lost to Trump in each of these swing states, leaving some to speculate that the turnout of the Bitcoin and crypto voting bloc may have been one of the primary forces that swayed the election in Trump’s favor.

While Rep. Khanna doesn’t know to what extent this voting bloc impacted the election results, he agreed that it was likely one of many major factors that affected the outcome of the election.

“I think it made a difference,” said the congressman. “In such a close election, everything matters, and the fact that there were some Democrats who offended Bitcoin and crypto voters was not helpful.”

And Rep. Khanna is not alone in acknowledging this.

In December 2024, at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Van Jones — political analyst, media persona, and prominent voice within the Democratic party — stated that it was to the Democratic party’s detriment that it shut out pro-Bitcoin and pro-crypto voters.

Rep. Khanna sang Jones’ praises and said that we should be hearing more voices like Jones’ within the Democratic party speaking up in favor of Bitcoin in the near future.

“I have a lot of respect for Van Jones,” said Rep. Khanna.

“He spent some time in the Bay Area, so he gets technology. The party will be moving in a direction that’s going to embrace Bitcoin and other technologies,” he added.

Will President Trump’s Embrace Of Bitcoin Deter Democrats From Supporting It?

While it only seems logical that the Democratic party would reverse its stance on Bitcoin if it’s looking to pick up seats on the House and Senate come the 2026 midterm elections, it simultaneously seems difficult to imagine more Democrats coming out in support of Bitcoin given the highly partisan political climate in the U.S. coupled with the fact that President Trump is an ardent Bitcoin supporter.

Rep. Khanna argued that Democrats shouldn’t be thinking along party lines when it comes to Bitcoin, but rather assessing the technology based solely on what it is.

“Politicians are capable of evaluating Bitcoin on its merits,” said Rep. Khanna. 

“Bitcoin is just a decentralized digital currency that enables peer-to-peer transactions without a need for an intermediary. People just need to study Bitcoin and learn that it’s just a medium of exchange,” he added.

Rep. Khanna also took a moment to differentiate between Bitcoin and meme coins, highlighting the fact that the president’s recently released coin ($TRUMP) creates much confusion regarding the value proposition of crypto assets, including bitcoin.

“We shouldn’t have elected officials like President Trump launching meme coins,” said the congressman. 

Getting Democrats on the Right Side of History

At a time when many U.S. citizens are struggling to make ends meet, should Bitcoin be a front-and-center issue for Democrats, once widely regarded as the political party of the middle and working class?

Rep. Khanna doesn’t necessarily think so, but he also doesn’t think the party should continue to pooh-pooh the technology.

“There are far bigger issues at hand right now like the cuts in Medicaid, the firing of veterans, and the erratic policy of tariffs,” the congressman explained.

“But the Democrats were on the wrong side of issues of innovation and Bitcoin in 2022 and 2024, and we now have an opportunity to get on the right side of it,” he added.

So, how can pro-Bitcoin Democrat voters help to get their party on the right side of history when it comes to Bitcoin?

Rep. Khanna had a few suggestions:

“They should point to those of us who are leading on Bitcoin and crypto,” he said.

“They can encourage members of government to study the issue, so that they’re not uninformed,” he added. 

“And they should talk about the enormous adoption of Bitcoin.”

On Friday, Maryland Delegate Adrian Boafo (D) and New York Assemblyman Clyde Vanel (D) sent a joint letter to Democratic Congressional leaders urging them to pass comprehensive crypto legislation at the federal level.

In the letter, the elected officials cited New York State as being a leader in crypto regulation and proposed that New York’s BitLicense be used as a model for what federal crypto regulation should look like. The letter’s authors also noted that New York State has placed a two-year moratorium on proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining that uses fossil fuels (seemingly citing this as something else the federal government might consider doing).

It was upon reading these points in the letter that I realized that Democrats are capable of putting forward Bitcoin and crypto policy ideas stupider than what former Vice President Harris proposed in October 2024, which was “a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets [that protects] Black men who invest in and own these assets.”

(Please note that I’m in favor of a regulatory framework that protects the right of Black men to invest in crypto assets. I’m also in favor of one that protects the right of Asian men, Hispanic men, White men, and Indigenous men to do the same. Oh, and I’d like for whatever Bitcoin and crypto policy we craft here in the U.S. to protect the right of women and transgender people of all races to invest in bitcoin and crypto, as well.)

With that said, let me break down why the U.S. federal government’s creating something comparable to New York’s BitLicense and putting a mining moratorium on Bitcoin miners that use any amount of fossil fuels would be a bad idea.

And please forgive me in advance for being emotional at points. This issue is personal to me, as I’m a resident of New York State and have experienced firsthand the damage that politicians and bureaucrats have done to the Bitcoin and crypto industry in the state.

The BitLicense

New York State requires that all virtual currency businesses that operate in the state obtain a BitLicense.

At face value, obtaining a license to operate a business seems harmless enough. But once you learn that it takes months to years to complete all of the paperwork and to jump through all of the hoops required to obtain one and that it costs upward of $100,000 to go through this process, you quickly see why so many established companies in the space — never mind the early-stage start-ups — don’t even start the process.

Because of the BitLicense, New York State residents cannot use reputable platforms like Strike, River, Swan, and Kraken. Nor can they use Lightning on CashApp or the fiat-to-bitcoin exchange on Fold. This is only to name a few of the Bitcoin/crypto products and services that we can’t use because of red tape.

But what’s perhaps more of a slap in the face is that when you attempt to use some of these platforms as a New York State resident, you’re presented with messages such as “This exchange doesn’t serve residents of jurisdictions including New York State, Iran, Syria and North Korea.”

TRULY FUCKING STAGGERING THE COMPANY THAT NEW YORK POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS HAVE PUT NEW YORK RESIDENTS IN.

If we were to apply the BitLicense on a federal level, we would deeply stifle innovation and entrepreneurship, as not only would we greatly hinder the Bitcoin and crypto companies that have the money and resources to go through the process of obtaining a federal BitLicense, but we’d create a moat around them while creating a scenario in which the start-ups that can’t afford to go through the process either close up shop or simply not serve U.S. citizens.

A federal BitLicense would be a major hindrance to President Trump’s accomplishing his goal of making the United States the Bitcoin superpower and the crypto capital of the world. (Maybe that’s why these Democrats proposed it?)

The Mining Moratorium

While I know that burning fossil fuels is detrimental to the environment and I believe that human-made climate change is a real thing, I’m also a proponent of people being gainfully employed and industries being able to flourish.

And in upstate New York, there’s been a notable lack of both since factories began closing down in the region after World War II.

What’s replaced gainful employment in factories in many parts of upstate New York are service-sector jobs that barely enable workers to make ends meet.

The urban blight in most cities in upstate New York is so palpable that it’s nauseating.

What we could do to revive upstate New York is invite the Bitcoin mining industry in. Sure, Bitcoin mining companies might burn some fossil fuels to power their operations at first, but as Bitcoin mining incentivizes renewable energy production, they could move away from fossil fuels as their source of energy.

Also, if the likes of Assemblyman Vanel and New York State’s governor, Kathy Hochul (D), are so against companies that burn fossil fuels then 1) Why haven’t they put a moratorium on all companies in the state that use fossil fuels? and 2) Why haven’t they enacted laws that do things like stopping all New York residents from using cars that have internal combustion engines?

I ask these questions rhetorically, as I know I’d never get answers from either of them on this, because the mining moratorium is more for show — virtue signaling, if you will — than anything.

If they really wanted to make a concerted effort to stop the environmental damage that burning fossil fuels causes in New York, they’d do much more than prohibit Bitcoin mining companies that use fossil fuels from operating in the state (and they’d take down the economy of New York in the process).

If we were to apply such a mining moratorium on a federal level, we’d not only put many Americans out of work, but we’d also cede much of the hashrate to hostile foreign powers who are using fossil fuels to mine bitcoin anyway.

My Plea To Democrats

Please stop proposing regulation that will hurt an industry that could otherwise provide many Americans with high-quality jobs.

Please stop listening to the likes of Delegate Boafo, Assemblyman Vanel, or any of the backward-thinking Democrats to which this letter was addressed, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Instead, start taking queues from more forward-thinking Democrats like Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and former Congressman Wiley Nickel (D-NC), politicians who would like to see Bitcoin and the industry that surrounds it succeed in the United States.