White House Withdraws Invitation to Winklevoss Twins Following Trump Endorsement

Highlights:

• Tyler Winklevoss urges the government to name the next SEC chair before the November elections.
• The Winklevoss twins’ invitation to a White House crypto roundtable was revoked after endorsing Donald Trump.
• Tyler Winklevoss criticized the Biden-Harris administration for not engaging with the crypto industry.

Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, revealed that he and his brother Cameron were disinvited from a White House crypto roundtable after publicly endorsing former President Donald Trump. This incident has further fueled Tyler’s criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s approach to the crypto industry.

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In a detailed post on X on July 27, Winklevoss accused the administration of failing to engage with the crypto community. He emphasized the need for transparency, urging the government to announce the next chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before the upcoming November elections.

In June, @cameron and I were invited to a crypto round table in DC with the White House in attendance. Two weeks later, we were disinvited because we publicly endorsed @realDonaldTrump. The Biden-Harris Administration did not want us there and refused to attend the event if we…

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) July 26, 2024

Tyler Winklevoss expressed his frustration, stating, “The Biden-Harris Administration had an opportunity to reset the relationship with the crypto industry this week.” He believes naming the next SEC chair is crucial for fostering bipartisan support for cryptocurrency.

White House Revokes Invitation

The Winklevoss twins were initially invited to a crypto roundtable at the White House in Washington, D.C. However, two weeks later, following their public endorsement of Trump, their invitation was revoked. Tyler Winklevoss highlighted this incident as an example of the administration’s unwillingness to engage with crypto enthusiasts.

Tyler also pointed out that Vice President Kamala Harris declined an invitation to speak at the 2024 Bitcoin conference in Nashville. Despite the conference organizers’ efforts, Harris chose not to attend, leaving the crypto community with unanswered questions about her stance on digital assets.

Kamala Harris will not be speaking @TheBitcoinConf. No surprise. What can she say to us when she’s actively imprisoning developers, forcing our industry overseas, attacking PoW… it would have been a disaster for her.

All eyes on Trump now.

— David Bailey🇵🇷 $0.65mm/btc is the floor (@DavidFBailey) July 24, 2024

Conversely, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, highlighting the intersection of cryptocurrency and politics. This event will also feature speeches from Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Senator Cynthia Lummis, and Senator Tim Scott.

Gary Gensler Faces Backlash

Current SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been contentious in the crypto industry. His tenure, marked by decisions perceived as hostile towards digital assets, has sparked significant criticism. Tyler Winklevoss called for clarity on Gensler’s potential replacement, emphasizing, “No more guessing. No more hoping. No more surprises. Our industry should not tolerate any possibility of a repeat of the last four years.”

Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler’s brother, echoed these sentiments. He accused the Biden-Harris administration of attempting to undermine the crypto sector. Cameron recommended firing Gary Gensler and ending Operation Choke Point 2.0 to rejuvenate the industry.

Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently also weighed in on the issue. He warned that Gary Gensler could become a political liability for Kamala Harris if she adopts Senator Elizabeth Warren’s skeptical stance on crypto. Garlinghouse argued that Gensler’s leadership has caused the U.S. to lag behind other countries in establishing clear regulations for digital assets.

Jumping to conclusions and assumptions about candidates purely based on political affiliation without any policy proposals is holding the crypto industry back (similar to how tribalism has for years).

VP Harris is no stranger to Silicon Valley & has an incredible opportunity to… https://t.co/2kmKDZZXJe

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 24, 2024

Call for Bipartisan Support

Tyler Winklevoss emphasized the importance of bipartisan alignment on crypto issues. He urged the administration to name the next SEC chair before the election, advocating for a stable and transparent approach to crypto regulation. “This is table stakes,” Winklevoss asserted, “and this is how you make crypto bipartisan.”

Tyler also expressed a vision for the future where everyone universally accepts crypto and political figures refrain from using it for campaigns. He hopes that one day, the industry will be mainstream enough that politicians will no longer attend crypto conferences for political gain.

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