{"id":7173,"date":"2024-09-16T19:14:18","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T19:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=7173"},"modified":"2024-09-16T19:14:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T19:14:18","slug":"bitcoin-and-crypto-voters-make-their-voices-heard-at-america-loves-crypto-stop-in-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=7173","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin and Crypto Voters Make Their Voices Heard at America Loves Crypto Stop in Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the heels of tour stops in Arizona<\/a>, Nevada<\/a> and Detroit<\/a>, the America Loves Crypto tour rolled into Wisconsin on Friday, September 13, where local Bitcoin and crypto voters in the state rallied in support of pro-crypto candidates for the upcoming US elections. At the Red Rock Saloon in Milwaukee, WI, more than 200 people \u2014 including founders, politicians and technology enthusiasts \u2014 congregated to ask the question: How can we support Bitcoin and crypto on Capitol Hill?<\/p>\n

The battleground state was split nearly down the middle in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, with Biden and Trump receiving 1,630,866 and 1,610,184 votes, respectively. With 840,000 Wisconsinites owning some form of cryptocurrency, the narrow 2020 electoral margin of just 20,000 votes could easily be disrupted by the undecided crypto vote in 2024.<\/p>\n

The America Loves Crypto crowd was met with politicians from both sides of the aisle as well as Bitcoin and crypto industry representatives, followed by up-and-coming artist Jessie Murph, whose soulful blend of country and pop music resonated with a surprising number of fans.<\/p>\n

The event’s speakers included Josh Schoemann, Washington County Executive (R); Peter Burgelis, City of Milwaukee Alderman (D); Kara Calvert, Coinbase Head of U.S. Policy; Dom Bei, founder of Proof of Workforce; Spencer Smith, Founder of AmpliPhi Digital; Tiara Nicole, Co-founder of Craft the Future; Ian McCullough, Stand With Crypto WI chapter president and Awen co-founder; and Maggie Schmidt, Awen co-founder.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin State Pension\u2019s Bitcoin Investment<\/h3>\n

In May of this year, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) invested $162 million dollars in Bitcoin ETFs<\/a>, becoming the first U.S. state pension fund to invest in the asset class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wisconsin retirement system is a very healthy fund, and it\u2019s funded at almost 100%. Very few pensions in the U.S. can boast that, and they are the 10th largest pension in the nation,\u201d Dom Bei told Bitcoin Magazine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a good balance of being both conservative and innovative. It\u2019s a huge deal because they are healthy and they are looked at nationwide as a leader in the space,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Bei is a firefighter for the city of Santa Monica, California and Founder of the Bitcoin 501(c)(4) non-profit Proof of Workforce Foundation<\/a> who educates workers, unions, pensions and municipalities with education-based Bitcoin adoption. To Bei, the trend of pensions investing in Bitcoin will only continue to gain momentum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe $5 billion dollar Houston Firefighters Relief and Pension Fund was actually the first public pension fund to buy Bitcoin back in 2021,\u201d Bei explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe state of Michigan has also made a small $7 million allocation to Bitcoin ETFs. It will be fascinating to see the profile of the pensions that follow, whether they are underwater and mismanaged, or fully funded and operating from a place of strength,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

For Bei, Bitcoin is not just a tool for risk managers and Wall Street-types seeking outperformance, but an opportunity to re-engineer the American city for the benefit of wage earners, not just those in power.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just necessarily about municipalities holding bitcoin\u201d, said Bei. \u201cIt\u2019s really about activating the Bitcoin community, its innovation, and competing to bring in Bitcoin companies while increasing financial literacy for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf union members and workers learn the history of Bitcoin and why it was created, they are going to understand immediately where Bitcoin fits into the union story and the genesis of organized labor,\u201d said Bei. \u201cBitcoin was created as a response to the financial system placing its failures on the backs of the wage earner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bei\u2019s non-profit has partnered with the City of Santa Monica to launch the Santa Monica Bitcoin Office<\/a>, akin to the El Salvador Bitcoin Office<\/a>, to launch a Peer to Pier Bitcoin Festival in October of this year during Los Angeles Tech Week.<\/p>\n

When it comes to other investment allocators taking the plunge with Bitcoin and crypto, Spencer Smith, founder of marketing firm AmpliPhi Digital and Board Member of the Wisconsin Technology Council, sees Wisconsin\u2019s allocation as an extremely important signal to the investment community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m an investment manager reporting to a committee, you can point to the state of Wisconsin and say \u2018Well, they did it, here\u2019s how they did it, and why I propose that we [allocate to Bitcoin].\u2019 said Smith. \u201cHaving that first-mover advantage is important for Wisconsin, [and] it really sets the stage for the rest of the states as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith also noted that Bitcoin\u2019s sideways price action, following the meteoric 2021 bull run, has led to more clear conversations amongst Wisconsin legislators as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that the hype has died down, it gives us a lot more room to educate on a basis that\u2019s more from an understanding [of] \u2018How do we figure this out? Now that there\u2019s ETFs, how do we deploy these? How do you explain compliance?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Incentives first. Party second.<\/h4>\n

Wisconsin has seen a stark divide between its rural and urban voter populations, reflecting a larger national trend of partisan polarization with rural voters predominantly voting Republican and urban voters predominantly voting Democrat. Despite that backdrop, the Red Rock Saloon saw a unique blend of poly-partisanship on display, where Republicans, Democrats and even Independents saw value in courting the crypto voter.<\/p>\n

Delivering remarks in the typically deep blue Milwaukee, Joe Schoemann (R), Executive of the rural Washington county, received loud cheers in response to his re-affirmation of crypto as a means of prosperity for the average American.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been focused on giving the American Dream to the American citizen,\u201d said Schoemann to the crowd. \u201cCrypto represents that for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that the Bitcoin and crypto industry has seen what many view as unwarranted, or at least unwelcome, attacks from the national regulatory apparatus in the last few years, and because of this, the industry is not backing down.<\/p>\n

This attitude was echoed by Peter Burgelis (D), City of Milwaukee Alderman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ran for office because the election didn\u2019t go my way and I was pissed,\u201d said Alderman to the crowd <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when something doesn\u2019t go your way, you can post something dumb on social media or you can put your boots on and run. And I ran and I won,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cCrypto is important and your vote matters. Get out and vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Senate candidate Phil Anderson (I) reflected on the fact that Bitcoin and crypto appear to be one of the few issues that can transcend party lines. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have representative government anymore,\u201d Anderson told Bitcoin Magazine.<\/p>\n

\u201cLobbyists write the bills and the two-party system makes the representatives vote a certain way. And that goes to what all of Congress will agree to: constantly spending on war, constantly spending without any responsibility and really abusing fiat money,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all tied together, and it\u2019s important to support Bitcoin and blockchain as a way of making our government more transparent and more accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his campaign slogan of #DisruptTheCorruption, Anderson sees Bitcoin and crypto as both a technological and electoral priority for representative democracy.<\/p>\n

The next America Loves Crypto event is in Philadelphia, PA<\/a> on September 16, followed by a 600-person event in Washington, D.C<\/a>., culminating in a featured performance by The Chainsmokers to close out the tour.<\/p>\n

Attendees may RSVP<\/a> for the free events via the Stand With Crypto website<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the heels of tour stops in Arizona, Nevada and Detroit, the America Loves Crypto tour rolled into Wisconsin on Friday, September 13, where local Bitcoin and crypto voters in the state rallied in support of pro-crypto candidates for the upcoming US elections. At the Red Rock Saloon in Milwaukee, WI, more than 200 people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}