Coinbase initiative announces crypto-themed US presidential forum

The “Stand With Crypto” campaign launched by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase plans to bring candidates for the 2024 United States presidential election together to discuss blockchain technology and digital assets.

According to its website as of Dec. 4, Stand With Crypto confirmed that Republican candidates Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Democratic candidate Dean Phillips, will appear in person in New Hampshire on Dec. 11 to discuss issues related to digital assets. Invited candidates included former President Donald Trump, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Republicans Doug Burgum, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie.

“This special opportunity allows you to hear from each presidential candidate and will provide candidates with a venue to address the crypto and blockchain community in New Hampshire,” said Stand With Crypto. “The topics will not be limited to crypto-specific issues. Instead, this forum is designed to enable candidates to address the crypto and blockchain community on a range of policies in advance of the New Hampshire Primary.”

We are excited to announce the first-ever Crypto Presidential Forum!

Join us in New Hampshire to hear directly from candidates about their positions on crypto policy and a wide range of other topics. Audience members will be able to submit questions.

Local leaders will also be… pic.twitter.com/B5fqd5TlfE

— Stand With Crypto? (@standwithcrypto) December 1, 2023

On Jan. 23, New Hampshire will hold one of the first primaries for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, providing what many pollsters and political pundits consider a first look at how the election may unfold in November. U.S. President Joe Biden, who was neither listed as “confirmed” nor “invited” on the event website, is expected to be the candidate for the Democratic Party. To date, Trump has also never appeared in any Republican Party debate ahead of the 2024 election.

At the time of publication, polls suggested that President Biden was most likely to face Trump in 2024, with the former president double digits ahead of DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy — roughly 58% to their 5%–13%. A Nov. 1 Quinnipiac poll showed Kennedy Jr. — once considered by many to be a longshot candidate for the Democratic nomination — at 22% in a three-way race against Trump and President Biden.

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It’s unclear whether the Dec. 11 forum, roughly a month ahead of the primary, will shift voters’ focus to crypto. Candidates, including Kennedy Jr. and Ramaswamy, have made digital assets one of the key issues in their campaigns, but frontrunners Biden and Trump rarely speak publicly on crypto and blockchain.

In El Salvador, former President Nayib Bukele resigned from his position on Dec. 1 in order to run for office in 2024. Bukele advocated for the Central American nation to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender and has been behind multiple buys of the cryptocurrency for the government.

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