Why New York’s Zohran Mamdani Is Silent on Crypto: Is It Bad?

Prediction market Polymarket has Mamadani at a 71% chance of winning the race. Source: Polymarket

On July 16, Mamdani was in Washington. He was meeting with leading Democrats such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who both endorsed Mamdani in his partys successful primary run against Cuomo.

Sanders posted on Twitter/X on that day about Mamdami, saying he was.

But Mamdani has never talked about crypto. BeInCrypto reached out to Mamdani, both his campaign and council office, for comments on the blockchain industry.

There was no response as of press time.

Though his following is largely a younger demographic, he hasnt yet addressed policy regarding blockchain and cryptocurrency in a city well-known for the industry.

Some in crypto might be concerned. Leading Democrats have been critical of cryptocurrency, mainly due to consumer protection issues.

Will Mamdani‘s Political Ideology Hamper New York’s Crypto Progress？

The most outspoken Democrat member of the crypto opposition is Elizabeth Warren, who told CNBC on July 17 that Mamdani is “willing to try new ideas”.

That might not be enough to convince cryptocurrency advocates Mamdani is the right person to push blockchain technology forward in NYC, where companies like Uniswap, OpenSea and ConsenSys are headquartered.

“Not bullish,” said Brian Mahoney, based in NYC as vice president of business development for Thesis, a Bitcoin startup accelerator.

Influential Democrats like Warren have been outspoken critics of the cryptocurrency industry. And Mamdanis position as a “socialist” Democrat may not align with the free market ideals of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

It‘s hard to tell when Mamdani’s positioning is not yet clear. It may take some time before that positioning crystallizes ahead of the election in November.

“I voted for him because I‘m progressive and think the government should serve everyone, and provide care to those most in need,” said Benjamin Siegel, head of product for Octant, which helps fund public goods in crypto. “I don’t care about his crypto policy – and Ill never vote for a candidate based solely on their crypto policy.”

Many cryptocurrency companies that would rather have less regulation, especially in light of New York States onerous BitLicense requirements, could be concerned if Mamdani starts to criticize the industry.

“The world, and our industry, would be a better place if we acknowledged that some things are more important than $ going up,” Octants Siegel added.

Yet the majority of crypto companies concerned about tougher regulations in New York may have some fear of a very left-leaning mayoral candidate like Mamdani.

This is largely because Mamdani plans to make busing in NYC free and freeze rents for citizens.

Already, opponent and incumbent Eric Adams is busy courting cryptocurrency, seeing it as an opportunity for fundraising. Empower NYC, a super PAC, is raising up to $10 million for Adams, largely from the crypto and banking industry.

It will be interesting to see what Mamdanis views and positioning will be about crypto. To him, is it a world-changing good for the people？

Or does he view it as harmful for the people of New York City, despite it being an industry epicenter？ Only time and Mamdanis positioning will truly tell.

“I think he is very silent on what it means for crypto, and generally that doesn‘t mean good things,” said Art Malkov, a web3 startup advisor at NYC-based accelerator TechStars. “He either doesn’t like it, or at the very least not planning to make it part of his agenda.”