Bringing together policymakers and Black leaders in the crypto industry, panelists at last week’s second annual Blockchain Braintrust Retreat in Vineyard Haven addressed the skepticism on crypto, and discussed the ways it could potentially be used to close financial gaps.
Leading the event was Tiffany Smith, a lawyer with WilmerHale advising crypto companies, and Cleve Mesidor, executive director of the Blockchain Foundation. Since last year’s inaugural event, the two developed the Blockchain Leadership Institute as a way to bring diverse backgrounds together when it comes to talking and educating about crypto.
“The goal here was to make sure that we’re connecting with Democratic policymakers who come on the Island every August,” said Mesidor about this year’s event. “They do fundraisers, they do events, they vacation. So it’s a way of actually demystifying crypto, and normalizing it.”
With Smith’s law background and Mesidor’s policy background, previously working in the commerce sector of the Obama Administration, the two have been working to inspire change and open access for underrepresented communities within the crypto industry.
Smith said the phrase that’s used to describe what crypto can do for communities is “financial inclusion.”
“It’s using a financial tool to make someone’s life better, to enhance it,” she said.
Bringing this event to the Vineyard, in part as a way to educate and alert policymakers on the benefits of crypto for certain communities which lack financial inclusion, was a concept thought out a couple of years back.
“The idea was, I’m on the Island in August, and you have the Black politicians and plenty of corporate folks coming. So it would be great to bring an event focused on crypto to the Island,” Smith said. “You’re providing an opportunity for people who are policymakers and who are executives and leaders in other industries to learn about the technology, learn about why people are excited about it.”
According to Mesidor, now is an “inflection point” in the time of crypto currency, where education and discussions are important as this presidential election year looms over us.
“Whether it’s Trump or Kamala Harris, we’re going to see a difference from how Biden approaches it,” Mesidor said about the future of crypto.
Speakers at last week’s event ranged from policymakers to large-company CEOs. Among the panel was Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, who spoke on the strides other countries have taken when it comes to crypto currency, compared with the U.S.
“This is a sector that isn’t going anywhere,” Kamlager-Dove said about crypto to the group gathered at last week’s event. “It probably will leave us behind and find greater success on other continents, leaving us to play catch up, which America doesn’t like to do.”
She discussed the ways working people can utilize crypto once they’ve gained access, in areas such as small business startups and housing development.
“It’s a sort of financial emancipation,” Kamlager-Dove said about the possibilities of crypto and what’s to come.
