Nevada Welcomes Bitcoin and Crypto: Day Two of the America Loves Crypto Tour

The speakers and performers on the second night of the America Loves Crypto tour were just as passionate and motivated to get the crypto vote out as those on the first night of the tour.

Political figures and crypto industry leaders in attendance at the event, held at The Space in Las Vegas, included Sonny Vinuya, Director of Outreach for Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R); Rudy Pimantuan, Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros S. Anthony Chief of Staff (R); Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine (D) and Kate Rouch, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Coinbase, among others. Rapper and singer 070 Shake and Las Vegas DJ 3LAU performed at the event.

The common threads in the rhetoric of the speakers and performers at the event were that crypto is here to stay, Nevada will be a home for the crypto industry, and that the crypto vote matters deeply in Nevada, a swing state with a population of just over. 3.1 million where the difference in votes for the 2024 presidential election was only 33,516.

Securing Victory for Pro-Crypto Candidates in Nevada

“We need to make sure that our decision makers and the leaders we elect are the ones who embrace what we believe in,” Pimantuan, a crypto investor since 2015, told the audience.

“So in the next election cycle, especially here in Nevada, elections are going to be won or lost by 1 or 2 percentage points. That is about 15,000 to 30,000 votes,” he added.

“When you add up how many people in our state are crypto investors, that number is much larger than the margin of victory.”

Much larger is an understatement, as 385,000 Nevadans own crypto, according to the Stand With Crypto Alliance. This number was placed on screens at the event for the entire evening.

“In my business, we always say the market will decide,” Conine began.

“Well guess what folks? You are the market and your vote counts. Elections in this state are always very close and they are not close because everyone votes and both sides are equal. They are close because some are voting, but many people are staying at home,” he added, before urging those in the audience who were not registered to vote to do so, but noting that crypto voting may influence the vote in future elections. both at the state and federal levels.

Rouch, a Nevada resident, also issued a call to action from the stage.

“We need you in this election,” she said.

“It’s extremely important to figure out where the politicians in your district, in the state, are on crypto — to really ask them the tough questions — and tell your friends and family to get out there and vote.”

Nevada as Home for Bitcoin and Crypto Industry

“Las Vegas is a city of opportunity — above and beyond the casino floors,” Vinuya said from the stage.

“Nevada is home to an emerging center of technological and financial innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth,” he added before noting that the Governor’s Office of Economic Development facilitated $5 billion in economic investment last year and that the state saw growth of 4% of jobs over the same time period.

Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine addresses the audience.

Part of this trend has been fueled by Nevada’s embrace of the crypto industry.

“Amidst all these exciting achievements under the leadership of Governor Lombardo and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Nevada has also become a home for innovators in blockchain and cryptocurrency technology,” he explained.

Vinuya then pointed out that next year’s Bitcoin conference will be based in Las Vegas.

“Here in our state, we have a good concept coined by Governor Lombardo called the ‘Nevada way,’ which means, as Nevadans, we never give up, we never give in, and we never stop dreaming,” he concluded he. “The spirit of the Nevada Way is alive and well in the Bitcoin community, and we welcome your innovation and big dreams to Nevada.”

Capitalizing on political momentum

According to Rouch, we have reached the point of no return with crypto and politicians can no longer afford not to take a stand on this issue, which is why Coinbase supports the Stand With Crypto Alliance.

“What we’re really saying here is ‘beware,'” Rouch told Bitcoin Magazine. “This matters to a lot of voters.”

After noting that 52 million Americans of various backgrounds, ethnicities and socioeconomic status now own crypto, Rouch explained that politicians, at the federal level, are now seeing how big this problem is and are acting on it.

“We’ve seen undeniable changes in Washington, DC over the past year from both parties,” she said.

“We had the approval of FIT21 in Parliament with a bipartisan vote. This was truly unprecedented. We also have politicians making their statements about crypto known for the first time, and I feel very optimistic about that,” she added.

Rouch wasn’t the only speaker or performer at the event feeling upbeat.

Before starting his DJ set, 3LAU recounted how he met the Winklevoss twins, early bitcoin buyers and owners of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, at a concert a decade ago. He shared how they explained what Bitcoin was to him at that event and that it gave him hope.

3LAU gave a thumbs up to Bitcoin and crypto voters during his DJ set.

“Bitcoin changed my life and it has for the last 10 years,” 3LAU told the crowd before starting his DJ set.

“This election is probably the most important of my life. We have a choice to make: the future of the financial system or follow the legacy nonsense we’ve had to put up with,” he added.

“And we will all vote for crypto.”