Democrats Have Made a 'Horrific Mistake' on Crypto, Says SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci

Anthony Scaramucci, Donald Trump’s former director of communications, might just turn out to be his most vocal critic.

The Skybridge Capital founder and CEO, who held his position under the former president in 2017 for less than a week, will not be voting for the Republican presidential nominee this November, even though they agree on at least one political issue: the need to enact clear crypto legislation.

The Democrats' failure to do so is damaging them, said Scaramucci, who nevertheless continues to support the party.

“The Democrats have made a horrific mistake,” he said in an interview with CoinDesk’s Jennifer Sanasie. “They could have been neutral on crypto or positive on crypto. And I think it would have helped them in the election.”

Scaramucci is also no fan of Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, even though he “weirdly helped the industry” by delaying his decision to allow the launch of spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) until crypto rediscovered its footing after a tumultuous year.

"I want Gary Gensler to be fired," he said, arguing that the antipathy of Gensler and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been an "unbelievable disaster" for the crypto industry.

Regarding Trump, he says the former president is not just all talk when it comes to crypto.

If Trump gets reelected in November – which traders on crypto-based prediction market platform Polymarket are signaling has a 70% probability – Scaramucci said the new administration will create a supportive environment for the crypto industry.

“They'll put a pro-SEC, pro-crypto, pro-digital asset SEC commissioner in place,” he said. “This whole discussion about what is a security and what's a token and all this stuff will go by the wayside.”

Trump emerged as the “pro-crypto presidential candidate” earlier this year when he reiterated his view that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would be a danger to freedom, and he would not allow the creation of such a product.

He started accepting donations in crypto and said he would “build a crypto army” to fight the “anti-crypto army,” referring to Warren.

On Monday, he announced that he had picked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) for vice president, who is also considered crypto-friendly.

Scaramucci said, however, that while he’s happy Trump is pro-crypto, he is not a “one issue voter.”

“I see myself as having Trump reality syndrome. I see the man for what he is. I see the lack of intellectual curiosity. I see the danger to democracy. I see these think tanks that are working alongside of him that want to build his transition into the first few years of his presidency as a dystopian.”