Following tour stops in Arizona, Nevada, and Detroit, the America Loves crypto tour arrived in Wisconsin on Friday, September 13, where local bitcoin and cryptocurrency voters in the state rallied in support of pro-crypto candidates for the upcoming U.S. election. At the Red Rock Saloon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, over 200 people, including founders, politicians, and tech enthusiasts, gathered to pose the question: How can we support bitcoin and crypto on Capitol Hill?
The battleground state was split nearly down the middle in the 2020 US 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 altered by the crypto swing vote in 2024.
The America Loves crypto crowd was met by politicians from both parties, as well as representatives from the bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry, followed by up-and-coming artist Jessie Murph, whose soulful blend of country and pop music resonated with a surprising number of fans.
Speakers at the event included Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann (R); Milwaukee City Councilmember Peter Burgelis (D); Coinbase US Policy Director Kara Calvert; Proof of Workforce Founder Dom Bei; AmpliPhi Digital Founder Spencer Smith; Craft the Future Co-Founder Tiara Nicole; Stand With crypto WI Chapter President and Awen Co-Founder Ian McCullough; and Awen Co-Founder Maggie Schmidt.
Wisconsin State Pension bitcoin Investment
In May of this year, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) invested $162 million in bitcoin ETFs, becoming the first US state pension fund to invest in this asset class.
“The Wisconsin pension system is a very healthy fund and is almost 100% funded. Very few pensions in the US can boast that, and they are the 10th largest pension in the country,” Dom Bei told bitcoin Magazine.
“They have a good balance between being conservative and innovative. This is very important because they are healthy and are considered leaders at the national level,” he added.
Bei is a firefighter for the city of Santa Monica, California and founder of the bitcoin 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization Workforce Testing Foundation which educates workers, unions, pensions and municipalities with the adoption of bitcoin based on education. For Bei, the trend of pensions investing in bitcoin will continue to gain momentum.
“The $5 billion Houston Firefighters Pension and Relief Fund was actually the first public pension fund to buy bitcoin in 2021,” Bei explained.
“The state of Michigan has also made a small allocation of $7 million to bitcoin ETFs. It will be fascinating to see the profile of the pensions they follow, whether they are underwater and poorly managed, or fully funded and operating from a position of strength,” he added.
For Bei, bitcoin is not just a tool for risk managers and Wall Streeters seeking outperformance, but an opportunity to redesign the American city for the benefit of wage earners, not just those in power.
“It’s not necessarily about municipalities holding bitcoins,” Bei said. “It’s really about activating the bitcoin community, its innovation and competing to attract bitcoin businesses while also increasing financial literacy for everyone.”
“If union members and workers learn the history of bitcoin and why it was created, they will immediately understand the place that bitcoin has in the history of unions and the origin of organized labor,” Bei said. “bitcoin was created in response to the financial system placing its failures on wage earners.”
Bei’s nonprofit has partnered with the City of Santa Monica to launch the Santa Monica bitcoin Office, similar to El Salvador’s bitcoin Office, to launch a peer-to-peer bitcoin Festival in October of this year during Los Angeles tech Week.
When it comes to other investment allocators jumping into bitcoin and crypto investments, Spencer Smith, founder of marketing firm AmpliPhi Digital and a board member of the Wisconsin technology Council, sees Wisconsin’s allocation as an extremely important signal to the investment community.
“If I’m an investment manager reporting to a committee, you can point to the state of Wisconsin and say, ‘Well, they did it, here’s how they did it and why I’m proposing that we (allocate funds to bitcoin),’” Smith said. “Having that first-mover advantage is important for Wisconsin, (and) it really sets the stage for the rest of the states as well.”
Smith also noted that bitcoin’s sideways price action following 2021’s meteoric bull run has led to clearer conversations among Wisconsin lawmakers as well.
“Now that the hype has died down, we have a lot more scope to educate on a basis that is more based on understanding, 'How do we solve this? Now that ETFs exist, how do we implement them? How do we account for compliance?'” he said.
First the incentives. Then the party.
Wisconsin has seen a stark divide between its rural and urban voting populations, reflecting a broader national trend of partisan polarization, with rural voters predominantly voting Republican and urban voters voting Democrats. Despite that context, the Red Rock Saloon saw a unique mix of polypartisanship on display, where Republicans, Democrats, and even independents saw the value in courting the crypto voter.
Delivering a speech in typically blue Milwaukee, rural Washington County Executive Joe Schoemann (R) received loud applause in response to his reaffirmation of cryptocurrencies as a means of prosperity for the average American.
“I've been focused on making the American dream a reality for American citizens,” Schoemann told the crowd. “Cryptocurrency represents that for all of us.”
It’s no secret that the bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry has seen what many consider unwarranted, or at least unwanted, attacks from the national regulatory apparatus in recent years, and because of this, the industry is not backing down.
This attitude was shared by Milwaukee City Councilman Peter Burgelis (D).
“I ran for office because the election didn’t go my way and I was angry,” Alderman told the crowd.
“And when something doesn't go your way, you can either post something stupid on social media or put on your boots and run. I ran and won,” he added.
“Cryptocurrencies are important and your vote counts. Go out and vote.”
US Senate candidate Phil Anderson (I) reflected on the fact that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies seem to be one of the few issues that can transcend party lines.
“We no longer have representative government,” Anderson told bitcoin Magazine.
“Lobbyists write the bills and the two-party system makes representatives vote a certain way. And that translates into what the entire Congress will accept: constant spending on wars, constant spending without any responsibility and really abusing fiat money,” he added.
“Everything is interconnected and it is important to support bitcoin and blockchain as a way to make our government more transparent and more accountable.”
With his campaign slogan #DisruptTheCorruption, Anderson sees bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as both a technological and electoral priority for representative democracy.
The next America Loves crypto event will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 16, followed by a 600-person event in Washington, DC., which culminated in a standout performance by The Chainsmokers to close out the tour.
Attendees can Confirm attendance for free events through Stand With crypto Website.
