A vocal anti-Trump African-American organization is pushing for Congress to pass stalled cryptocurrency legislation. Even though this grassroots Democrat group supports the bill, the party’s establishment continues to stand in the way.
As the Senate wraps up its work before its summer recess, the National Black Church Initiative, a vocal anti-Trump group, and the Blockchain Association issued statements in support of the Clarity Act.
“NBCI believes responsible public policy should encourage technological advancement while ensuring fairness, transparency, and equal opportunity for all Americans,” the post reads. “As our nation continues to shape the future of digital innovation, timely legislative action is essential.”
The NBCI is an organization that boasts a membership of 27.7 million members and 150,000 African-American churches. While it doesn’t claim a political affiliation, it almost solely supports Democratic candidates and positions.
The NBCI released a statement leading up to the 2016 presidential election in which its president, Reverend Anthony Evans, said, “We are not going to let Donald Trump or anyone else assault black people or any other groups. We will oppose him and others through our moral goodness. This is why he is the biggest racist since Bull Conner [sic].”
Eugene “Bull” Connor was an Alabama public official who vocally opposed the civil rights movement of the 1960s known for releasing dogs to chase protesters at Birmingham.
The NBCI has also called Jews “selfish” for criticizing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s order to redefine antisemitism shortly after taking office.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the NBCI for comment by email and phone but received no response.
The BA referenced the NBCI’s post, adding that “They support the legislation because it advances two critical priorities: stronger consumer protections and greater economic opportunity.”
The Washington Examiner spoke to representatives from the BA to better understand its position on the Clarity Act and its relationship with the NBCI.
Lindsay Fraser, the chief policy officer for the Blockchain Association, said in a voice call that the BA supports the Clarity Act because, “It helps provide certainty and will benefit American developers and American-based companies.”
“Blockchain technology, and crypto more broadly, enable the ability to … to transact much faster and much cheaper,” Fraser said. “So I think what we’ll see after the Clarity Act and the expansion of more and more usage of blockchain technology is … this technology [being] built into the back-end of everything.”
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also known as the Clarity Act, is a more-than-300-page bill making its way through the Senate that sets the legal boundaries for cryptocurrencies. The Clarity Act has garnered praise from President Donald Trump, Republicans, cryptocurrency groups, and — more recently — traditional banking firms.
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The Clarity Act gives control of cryptocurrency regulation to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is more favorable to cryptocurrency firms and consumers than if the Securities and Exchange Commission were given control.
About the BA’s member organizations, Fraser said, “We represent over 100 companies that are building the blockchain space across the United States. And our membership broadly is very invested in this bill getting [passed].
“Individual companies put out letters of support, but also they’re supporting our efforts behind the scenes as well, because some of our companies are large, but a lot are small startups—builders who rely on us to be their voice in D.C.,” Fraser said.
A media representative from the BA, Chris Jonas, wrote an email response that the BA has no formal relationship with the NBCI.
“We highlighted its public statement because it reflected support for the Clarity Act from another organization, adding to the broad and growing coalition backing the legislation,” Jonas wrote.
Trump has viewed cryptocurrency favorably and has even signed executive orders promoting its use. Trump also advocated and eventually signed into law the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act. He also supports the Clarity Act, showing how strange it is that an anti-Trump organization such as the NBCI is siding with him on the issue.
When it comes to the Clarity Act, which has been opposed by notable Democratic congressional members, proponents of the legislation must promote any Democrat-adjacent support — even if that support comes from a group that opposes the current party in power.
Democrat leadership, including Reps. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), both vocally opposed the legislation as it made its way through the House of Representatives. In the Senate, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have set themselves against the Clarity Act. They argue that it is a piece of partisan legislation that prioritizes special interests and harms consumers.
These representatives also argue that the bill does not do enough to oppose Trump’s agenda.
While prominent establishment Democrats continue to oppose it, grassroots, anti-Trump groups such as the NBCI have expressed support for the bill. This divide in support highlights how out-of-touch Democrat leadership is with its base on the issue of cryptocurrency. When it comes to money, neither the Democrat coalition’s base nor Trump wants to be left behind.
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Democratic leadership needs to realize that being anti-Trump is not a positive position. If Trump supports a bill like the Clarity Act, which is set to help out the country’s financial system, Democrats force themselves to oppose it—even if it’s good for the up-to 30% of the public that uses cryptocurrency.
The Democratic elite needs to realign itself with its base, or it can expect to be ousted in the next election cycle.