Aarika Rhodes vs Brad Sherman: Getting Crypto into Congress CA-32

Aarika Rhodes is running for Congress! Running against incumbent Brad Sherman, who is notoriously misinformed and anti-crypto, Aarika seeks to bring a more crypto-friendly approach to CA-32, representing much of the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. A schoolteacher by profession, Aarika seems to be breathing fresh air into the stale political landscape. Here's her policy on crypto: "Aarika believes in the right of every individual to manage their own finances and investments as they see fit. In Congress, Aarika will oppose any attempts to ban this emerging technology. Aarika is also a strong advocate for making sure financial literacy is taught in schools and for people being aware of the environmental impact of their investments." Learn more about Aarika: https://www.aarikaforcongress.com/ ------ 📣 ONJUNO | Crypto from your Checking Account! https://bankless.cc/OnJuno ------ 🚀 SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/ 🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST: http://podcast.banklesshq.com/ ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: ⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum 🍵 MATCHA | SMART ORDER ROUTING https://bankless.cc/Matcha 🚀 SLINGSHOT | LAYER 2 SOCIAL TRADING https://bankless.cc/Slingshot 🏦 GEMINI | TURN FIAT INTO CRYPTO https://bankless.cc/Gemini 🦁 BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET https://bankless.cc/Brave 🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants ------ Topics Covered: 0:00 Intro 6:30 Aarika Rhodes 11:33 Why Get Involved? 16:42 Anti-Crypto Policies 21:09 California's 32nd District 25:17 How America Can Win Crypto 30:00 The Youth & Environment 34:15 Web3 vs Banking 38:11 Financial Literacy 42:31 The Campaign 46:09 Proactive in the Community 47:58 The Single-Issue Voter 50:29 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Resources: Aarika on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AarikaRhodes?s=20 Aarika's Tweet: https://twitter.com/AarikaRhodes/status/1468647038925500418?s=20 Get Involved: https://www.aarikaforcongress.com/ ----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research. Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:07Ryan Sean Adams?

  Hey, Bankless Nation. Welcome to another State of the Nation nighttime edition. David and I are super excited to host Erica Rhodes, the episode that we're going to talk about today. It's how we beat Brad Sherman, okay? David, who's Brad Sherman for folks that don't know?

• 0:24David Hoffman?

  Brad Sherman is the sitting member of Congress from California 32nd District, who recently made a farce about crypto using things like mongoose coin and like rabbit coin. And to make overall, just doesn't take crypto seriously and has openly advocated for an open ban on just generally all things crypto. I'm not a fan of such a policy, so I think that we can do, we should do whatever we need to do to make sure that that kind of policy does not work its way into Congress. And so it just so happens that a new person on the scene, one named Erica Rhodes, is not also not a fan of such a policy, and we are going to talk about that here on today's State of the Nation.

• 1:06Ryan Sean Adams?

  I think this is a, this is a conversation with Erica Rhodes, and we're going to talk about her battle against Brad Sherman for this congressional seat. We're also, I think there's a bigger picture here because we're going to talk about pro crypto versus anti crypto in the 2022 midterms. Really, in 2021, one of the main stories was crypto finding its political voice for the first time. And so I'm very curious as to whether we'll see crypto flex its muscles a little bit, whether this is something that gains some mainstream attention, whether it helps some, some, some folks that are running actually win some seats against those who are opponents or against crypto. So I think that's going to be the conversation we're about to have today.

• 1:50Ryan Sean Adams?

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• 2:33Ryan Sean Adams?

  but I still need it to pay bills and you know, to do real world things. With On Juno, this is kind of a bridge between both of those worlds. And so, uh, my hope is eventually I can get rid of my Wells Fargo account and uh, completely flip over to something like this, a hybrid crypto native bank account. Uh, so it's super exciting. So there's an opportunity to earn. You can get your paycheck in crypto. You can save, earn 4% bonus on USDC. You can also invest in crypto at zero fees. And if you use the code BANKLESS, you get $50 on your first crypto paycheck. That means a paycheck that gets converted into crypto for you.

• 3:14Ryan Sean Adams?

  You can find out more at onjuno.com. Make sure you use that code BANKLESS. David, I'm asking the question we start every State of the Nation episode with, which is this. What's the state of the nation today, sir?

• 3:27David Hoffman?

  Uh, I actually had to look this word up to make sure that it was actually a word. And yes, it is indeed a word. We are, Ryan, on today's State of the Nation. We are discoursing. We are having political discourse. We are talking about politics. We are talking about governance. We're talking about policy and asking about what should crypto policy be? What is good crypto policy from someone who believes in crypto? Rather than thinking that it should be banned. Uh, so today, Ryan, on the State of the Nation, we are discoursing.

• 3:55Ryan Sean Adams?

  I think we need some more discourse on crypto and politics. We, we need to take crypto to the politicians. So that's a, it's a good topic for today. So we will be right back with Erica Rhodes. But before we do, we want to thank the sponsors that made this episode possible.

• 4:10David Hoffman?

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• 4:53David Hoffman?

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• 5:37David Hoffman?

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• 6:22David Hoffman?

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• 6:41David Hoffman?

  Welcome Bankless Nation to this issue of State of the Nation. We are here with Erica Rhodes. And Erica Rhodes is an elementary school teacher in the great state of California, where I also reside, in Los Angeles. In 2022, Erica was an active volunteer during the Democratic primary for former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, of which I was also an active volunteer for Andrew Yang. So we share some commonalities there. Erica is running for Congress in 2022 against Brad Sherman, who's a staunch anti-crypto representative. And he's the one that tried to make a farce out of crypto using things like mongoose coin and has made statements about supporting a total shutdown of crypto. And it's also no surprise that some of Congressman Sherman's biggest donators in the 2020 campaign were banks and bank lobbying organizations.

• 7:25David Hoffman?

  And so, some of the statements out of Brad Sherman in the last couple of years or so is that cryptocurrencies are a crock. All Bitcoin does is allow for a few dozen men in my district to sit in their pajamas and on their couch all day and tell their wives that they're going to be millionaires and that Bitcoin also provides no real value to the economy. So Erica, we have interest in your campaign and what you have to say about crypto policy, and we are going to unpack that on today's show. But before we do that, we want to learn a little bit about you. Who is Erica Rhodes?

• 7:53Speaker 02

  Well, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here. So I am an elementary school teacher. I teach K through 6th grade science. And I ended up deciding to run for Congress in 2020. So we have been at this for a really long time, and it's just crazy, like the primaries are so close away. But I really want to serve on the Education and Labor Committee in Congress, and I want to subcommittee the financial services. So I think that this is a real opportunity for us to bring change and really start addressing poverty, our banking system, how, why people are staying impoverished, and more importantly,

• 8:35Speaker 02

  present new ideas and a different way of governance. I think that there is this, this deep mistrust between people and their elected officials. And for me, it's really important that we come together. I want to be like a unifying figure and model what a good representative is. And so I'm really excited to be in this race and more excited that we can actually win.

• 8:59David Hoffman?

  I definitely also think that we can definitely take the seat right out from under Brad Sherman, but I also want to keep on going down the Erica Rhodes rabbit hole. What were some, how, tell us a little bit about your formative years that has shaped the policy or what you believe in today?

• 9:14Speaker 02

  Like the what policy specifically?

• 9:17David Hoffman?

  No, just like your ideals, your ideology, growing up, what do you believe in?

• 9:23Speaker 02

  So, you know, funny, people don't really know this about me, but my family is very eclectic. So, half of my family is Republican, half of them of my family is Democrat. So, I think I approach my politics with good ideas and what's going to actually solve problems and what's going to leverage people. And so that's why I think I run a clean campaign. I'm not really focused on like titles as much as I am about just getting things done. And I think for me, at this point at 36, young people, and I really feel we're not advocating and doing what's in the best interest of young people. And that's partly why I filed.

• 10:05Speaker 02

  I also was inspired by Andrew because he was one of the only candidates to talk about financial literacy. He brought people from all across the political spectrum and he addressed automation. He's obviously pro crypto. And I think those things are really, really important and going to change, you know, the future. And I think the lack of things getting done has changed, like has kind of like shaped the way I view politics. You know, it's not about just being against someone as much as it is about being for something. And I feel like today's politics is just character assassination. And who does that impact the most? Everyday people, because people just want to see their lives get better. They will, they're sick of inflation. They're sick of, you know, the education

• 10:50Speaker 02

  system and their kids not getting what they need. And so that's kind of where I am politically. And I wanted to say one more thing. I want to remind people like I am not like this career politician. I'm not crazy polished. I am literally myself. I'm a teacher. I was really frustrated with the injustices happening. No one advocating and I just made the decision to do something about it. And so if people, people like kind of expect me to be a certain way, I am just myself. And I think that's refreshing for people that do support my campaign because I want someone regular that understands in that seat in Washington. So.

• 11:30Ryan Sean Adams?

  It's cool to see, Erica, it's really cool to see millennials get, get involved in, in politics. Because I know like you speak on behalf of, you know, some millennials, David and myself are, are part of that, that generation. So many people, so many millennials are just apathetic, right? So like they just like, or so many in crypto, you know, very much believe what you said earlier, that institutions are failing us. Like there's massive institutional distrust, but then they really don't feel like they can do anything on the political front. And I confess like sometimes I'm guilty of this too. And so are a lot of people in crypto. In fact, crypto is almost a protest movement for us where we're saying like, hey, the old system doesn't work. So we're just gonna opt out.

• 12:15Ryan Sean Adams?

  But can you give the case for why people in crypto, maybe millennials or some of the younger generations as well, should stop being apathetic and actually get involved in politics? Why should they care about your campaign specifically or like politics in their local district in general?

• 12:35Speaker 02

  I love this question. I think you're nailing it dead on. The systems are failing people. And that's why when Trump got elected, it wasn't like, okay, I just because I just didn't like him. It was more like, well, why did he get elected? What was the cause of that? And then I had made the personal decision that I'm going to get politically active. I'm going to pick a candidate. I'm going to support them like I've never supported anyone before. And now I'm running for office and with me running, my students are seeing that an everyday.

• 13:07Speaker 02

  Person can stand up and make a difference. And a lot of my platform was inspired by young people, like lowering the voting age to sixteen. When I first decided to announce that you should be the pro Bitcoin candidate, you should have that on your campaign. And take donations in Bitcoin. And I said, well, I'm familiar with Bitcoin. I don't know how that works with FEC compliance. But a lot of young people have already participated. And I think for me, I'm very intentional about empowering them and lifting their voices up. And I think when you have people like me showing a different way of running the campaign. I think that's going to trickle down and inspire other people to run their campaign differently.

• 13:48Speaker 02

  Because the old way isn't working, the old way of governing isn't working. And that's why we've created such a mass movement. And if you, and this is what's wild, is I work full time as a teacher in a pandemic. And we've raised over a quarter of a million dollars. And we have two hundred thousand dollars cash on hand. And it's not from big banks, corporations, pawn shops, check cashing. It's from everyday people that want an everyday representative. And so that's why young people should get in, because this is the campaign for hope. This is the campaign for the future, and this is the campaign that's going to bring the change.

• 14:26Speaker 02

  And, and that kind of leadership in Congress, because the reality is, if I go to Congress and I serve maybe one or two or three terms. I can go back as a teacher because I love my job. I'm not trying to be like in the Senate, I'm not trying to run for president. I'm really trying to advocate in the best way I know how. I'm single, I don't have children. My dad was like, Erica, you need to run for Congress. And we made it happen. Two teachers and a bunch of kids built this platform. And here we are about to unseat Brad Sherman.

• 14:57David Hoffman?

  And one of the reasons why we're so interested in this in this campaign is I think that this could be a microcosm for so many more races and the future of politics in America and perhaps even the world because if we can show that especially as the crypto industry if we can show that we can rally behind somebody that not only reflects the interests of our our industry but also the generations of the people that make up this industry which tends to skew younger and we can show that we can unseat somebody who's backed by banks and just long-term incumbency then hopefully we can start a domino effect and really start to realign so much of what politics has left behind which is you know the younger generation.

• 15:41Speaker 02

  And it pushes the narrative that that seat you're not entitled to that you actually have to earn it that you can't just show up around election time that you need to be in your community all the time advocating for everyday people and that's the issue that I take with not just Brad but several elected officials they think that seat is theirs and we and myself and there's a lot of other candidates running that run on a pro crypto pro Bitcoin platform which we happen we try we try to ask people to do it and take Lightning Network and you know just be more open-minded and now the news is picking up to our campaigns it's becoming a hot topic and I my prediction in 2024 you'll

• 16:26Speaker 02

  see presidents running a pro Bitcoin crypto platform.

• 16:30David Hoffman?

  Wow you think so?

• 16:31Speaker 02

  Oh I absolutely do absolutely do.

• 16:34David Hoffman?

  That would be incredible and if that's the case it's got to start this year it's got to start in you know 2022 but can you talk about this because this is this is so hilarious that Brad Sherman is running against such a pro crypto pro Bitcoin candidate like it couldn't have happened I just love that it's happening to Brad Sherman but like I just so I mean I know you're not about you know slinging mud in campaigns and this sort of thing but like I think that the crypto world is somewhat mystified.

• 17:07Ryan Sean Adams?

  A little bit about Brad Sherman, and I'm wondering if you could kind of help us get in his head for a minute, because it's really bizarre to us to see him talk about crypto in the way he talks about it, right? Like with a complete dismissal. Like, you know, there's gotta be thousands, hundreds of thousands of people in his district that actually hold the crypto assets that he's disparaging, that have actually benefited from the upside of these crypto assets that he's disparaging. Can you help us understand why? Like, why does Brad Sherman hate crypto so much?

• 17:48Speaker 02

  Because Brad Sherman gets his money from the big banks, chat, cashing, pawn shops, and so it's in his best interest to be anti-crypto and anti-Bitcoin. And I'm gonna tell you something right now. Before work, after work, every weekend, we are out, door knocking, phone banging, canvassing, and I have yet to meet one person that wants it regulated or wants it banned. Not one person. And I'm talking people from all walks of life, all across the political spectrum, age, gender, whatever. I have not met one person. And even people have this consensus that even if they don't hold Bitcoin or Ethereum or whatever, that it shouldn't be banned or

• 18:28Speaker 02

  regulated. And why are you working on that in Congress when we have an increase in homelessness in our district, when we have a housing crisis in our district, when we have climate change problems, when we have education problems? Why is that your priority? And so, believe me when I say this, people need to go to FEC.com, type his name in the search engine, and look at where he gets the money. And that tells you everything you need to know about what he's interested in. And I promise you, you will not see young people, people of color, everyday working people. You won't see that reflected in where he gets his money.

• 19:05Ryan Sean Adams?

  So this is like your explanation for this, because it's not just Brad Sherman. There are a few other politicians who've come out with this aggressive anti-crypto policy. And I've always just like been flabbergasted by it. It's like, that can't be a winning position. Like, back to your point, who on earth is asking for it? Which of your constituents are actually asking for this, and yet they're coming out so strongly anti-crypto?

• 19:31Ryan Sean Adams?

  Is this coming from the big banks? Like the big banking lobby?

• 19:34Speaker 02

  Because if you're representing your constituents, you're not taking this position. And that's the truth. If you had a town hall and said, hey, this is coming, I'm doing a hearing on cryptocurrency, stable coins. How do you feel about it? And then you're hearing an overwhelming amount of people saying, look, we don't want that. Please regulate whatever. But then I can see him taking that position in the hearings. But if you have a town hall and no one is saying that this is their number one issue, then it shouldn't be something that you're aggressively trying to ban and regulate. And so obviously, it goes back to where do you get your money? And that's why I am very pro, and I know this can be controversial in the crypto space, because there's, there's this, this feeling about printing money.

• 20:19Speaker 02

  But public finance elections. Imagine if we can get the big money out of election process, give everybody $100 they donate to the candidate that they wanted. Then an elementary school teacher wouldn't have to hustle as like way hard to try to unseat an incumbent. And it would make the incumbent actually go to their community and find out what they care about. We have to fix the systems. It's not like it's, it's not enough to just replace people. We have to get to the root of it. But you have to have bold leaders, bold representatives that will introduce that legislation, go on the House floor and give those impassioned speeches and rally up their constituents to put pressure on other elected officials.

• 21:03Speaker 02

  That's how you get change and that's how you create a movement.

• 21:07David Hoffman?

  Okay, I want to specifically call out who you plan to actually represent. Because I mean, I think there might be a lot of listeners here that, you know, might be in your district that maybe they don't actually know it. So where is California 32nd District? And can you tell us a little bit about that district? Who, what type of people lives there? What is the constituency base? And just like, what's the region?

• 21:30Speaker 02

  So that we just had the redistrict and we lost the congressional seat. So CA 30, which was initially when I started running was CA 30. Now it's CA 32, so it's the 32nd district. And we represent majority of the valley and they just added the Palisades and Malibu. And if you go to my website, ericaforcongress.com and you scroll to the bottom, we have a whole map of the new district and all the cities. There's like micro, there's like smaller cities. It's like a long list and the demographic makes up for, you know, we have an array of people from the, from the, um, from the economic standpoint. It's very diverse in terms of like, you know, race and age.

• 22:12Speaker 02

  We have the largest deaf community in the, in the country, which I'm very proud about. I learned sign language when I was in college and I'm a huge advocate for the D and deaf community. And we have a lot of like working class people. And we also have people, a lot of people that work in tech and, and they're very pro innovation. We, oh, thank you. There it is. And then we have, so it's a very well diverse district. Um, and so this is who I'm running to represent.

• 22:38David Hoffman?

  Well, that is fantastic because I, from what I can gather, uh, this is a pretty well populated district. Um, can you kind of just, uh, uh, scale up how big California 32nd district is versus other districts? Is this a big district? Is this a medium district? What's the size of this?

• 22:54Speaker 02

  I, we don't have the census report yet, but it's going to be around 800,000 people ish.

• 23:03David Hoffman?

  Okay.

• 23:03Speaker 02

  Give or take around in that, in that range. So it's fairly big. Like if you compare, it is a bigger district.

• 23:09David Hoffman?

  And LA has become an epicenter of the creative side of crypto, especially with this, uh, just absolute boom of NFTs. Crypto has all of a sudden become cool in the last like, you know, 18 months or so. And a large part of that story has to do with the creatives outside of LA. Uh, and so when, uh, I think when we see you unseat Brad Sherman, maybe a lot of people are surprised about that, but maybe they're, they're surprised about that because they weren't paying attention to how far crypto has infiltrated people's lives and how, uh, the NFT movement and the creator economy movement has really taken a, an seat in LA. Uh, and so I kind of see LA as a perfect ground for flipping a seat

• 23:52David Hoffman?

  that doesn't understand what an NFT is or why people are paying money for a JPEG.

• 23:57Speaker 02

  Yeah, I agree with you. And you know what I don't think people understand is like everyday people have crypto. Like, I know lots of teachers. We talk about it on our lunch break, right? So it's like, everyday people have it. There's a girl, she doesn't live in my district, but she's a huge volunteer for my campaign. She was a veteran. And when she came back, she fell into poverty, and she got into Bitcoin when it was really, really early on, and pulled herself out of poverty. And now she's devoted her life to community service and helping, you know, get elected officials into office that care about poverty.

• 24:38Speaker 02

  And so a lot of people in the crypto space actually give and do a lot of community service work with their earnings. And I think that goes unnoticed. And so we have to change, as like a community, we have to change the narrative around Bitcoin and crypto and what people really do, because there's like this misconception that it's criminals and all this stuff. That's not true. That's not true. So you're gonna tell me, like, teachers I work with are criminals? Come on. They teach kindergarten, they teach kids to read. Like, let's be real. So we have a lot of work to do in terms of bringing other elected officials along. And I think that we're the campaign to do it.

• 25:15Ryan Sean Adams?

  So Erica, there's also a story, I think, for the rest of the US around innovation here. And you put out this tweet recently in early December, you said this, Congressman Brad Sherman wants to ensure our country is last in line to benefit from all the innovation that is occurring in the cryptocurrency industry. It's time for new leadership. And you position yourself as someone who will fight and defend the infrastructure of Bitcoin and stable coins. And Brad Sherman has been a notable anti-crypto advocate in many of these conversations. What would you do differently? How do you think America can lead in crypto?

• 25:56Speaker 02

  Leave it alone, not try to regulate it to death. I would be the antithesis of him on that hearing, right? So I think that we need to embrace the innovation. I think it is going to be the next big thing, like as big as the internet. We're already seeing signs of that. And so if I were in that hearing, you would be seeing me asking totally different questions that really highlight the benefit of embracing Bitcoin and blockchain and innovation and what it could do, because that's the educational piece. And you'll also see me trying to inform other members of Congress why they should also refrain from trying to regulate it. And if they were going to do it, then we need to make sure that it's done accurately

• 26:41Speaker 02

  and that the language is correct and that it's being presented to the public and like being intellectually honest, I think, is the best way of framing it. And then also, I'm going to start. I want to, I think there's already one, I guess we found that you can't have a Bitcoin caucus, but definitely be a part of the bipartisan crypto caucus.

• 27:05Speaker 02

  Because I think it's important that when things come up for a vote, that we can then, as a caucus, then go and educate people and say like, no, this is why you don't want to vote this way. And if you do it, then maybe we'll hold our votes on X, Y, and Z and to leverage in that way. And then definitely sign onto the bills that are pro-innovation in the United States. We definitely want to make sure that this stays here.

• 27:28Ryan Sean Adams?

  So I think a lot of us, you know, know the stats, know how difficult it is to actually unseat a multi-decade, you know, incumbent, somebody like Brad Sherman. What makes you think you can unseat him? What makes you think we have a shot this time?

• 27:44Speaker 02

  Oh, a lot of reasons. One, he's canvassing. I haven't, I've lived out in my district since 2006. I have never once seen him even canvass or campaign or anything because he just thinks that that seat's his. And so now he's actively campaigning. So that's a really good thing.

• 28:00Ryan Sean Adams?

  Out of fear?

• 28:02Speaker 02

  Out of, well, out of fear, you know? This is a historic race too, and so we've Never had a woman represent this district. We never had a black woman or African American represent this district. So people are really paying attention to this race and we're starting to get national attention. So he's really taking this seriously. And we have the bankroll, you know, we still have, you know, about half a million more to go, which I do believe is going to come Q2. But he sees that this teacher has actual cash on hand and can physically take him out. And we're running a really solid ground game. We are in the community every single day. As I'm doing this interview, people are phone banking and everything. So we're, we're in this to win it and he knows it. And so I think he does fear me.

• 28:47David Hoffman?

  Well, and he should, and we will definitely be telling people where they can go donate at the end of this show. But before we get there, there's some other conversations that we want to talk about. More details on your actual specific crypto policy. Stable coins are a very hot subject right now as well as things like SEC regulation and exactly what you talked about, which we want to make sure that American policy doesn't regulate away the value of crypto. So we're going to get all into those subjects and more right after we talk about some of these fantastic sponsors that make the show possible. When you shop for plane tickets, you probably use Kayak, Expedia or Google to compare ticket prices. So why would you limit yourself to just one exchange when you trade crypto?

• 29:28David Hoffman?

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• 30:13David Hoffman?

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• 30:57David Hoffman?

  Uniswap is an autonomous piece of software on Ethereum that lets you trade any token at the current market price. No human counterparties or centralized intermediaries, just autonomous code on Ethereum. Input the token you want to sell and receive the token you want to buy. The Uniswap Grants Program is accepting applications for grants. Do you have something of value that you think you want to contribute to the Uniswap ecosystem? No matter how big or small your idea is, you can apply for a unique grant at uniswapgrant.org and help steer Uniswap in the direction that you think it should go. Thank you, Uniswap, for sponsoring Banklist. All right, guys, we are back with Erica Rhodes and we're going to dive into some specifics around crypto policy and some of the hot topics that come to mind with regards to crypto

• 31:41David Hoffman?

  in Capitol Hill is that we're looking for fair and equal treatment from the SEC and clarity from the SEC. We're looking to get stablecoins more and more accepted into the financial ecosystem. We'd love changes to the United States investor accreditation laws because we think those are disenfranchising to anyone that doesn't have a million dollars in assets, which is most people. And we also look exactly what we were talking about before we went to the break is we want to make sure that the United States leads crypto. So Erica, with regards to the specifics behind your stance towards crypto or what you want to see when you become the representative for California 32nd District, what will you focus on? What are you interested in changing first?

• 32:21Speaker 02

  You know, something that I've been, and I'm still flushing out how this would work, but I'm trying to, I'm wondering, I'm curious, is there a way that this can benefit our foster use? I've been thinking about that a lot lately because when kids age out of the foster care system, they immediately fall into poverty or a prison system. And so I was wondering if there's a way that that could be linked. This is going to be controversial, but I'm going to say it. I do like aspects of the Green New Deal. I like the Green New Deal and I'm very mindful of the environment. And I believe that the crypto space is really doing their due diligence on being more environmentally friendly and trying to make sure that when they're mining

• 33:06Speaker 02

  the coin, that they're, you know, using renewable energy, methane, solar and wind power. And when I met with miners, I was blown away by that they're paying their miners six figures and they're being environmentally friendly. So I was wondering, Kim, we find a way to put that into this, in the Green New Deal. I've been wondering about that. I think that's worth talking about because I think personally Bitcoin should not be a partisan issue. Crypto shouldn't be a partisan issue. Anybody that wants to get it should be able to get it and not get attacked regardless of their political affiliations. I really feel that way. And so I think if we can find a way

• 33:49Speaker 02

  to bring progressives more along and not be like so like, you know, oh my God, you know, I think that would be a positive thing. But I definitely want to push innovation, financial literacy, and making sure that we are the forefront of this innovative technology because I do, again, think it's going to be as big as the internet and it's not going away. It's not going away. So I think we should be the leaders of it.

• 34:14Ryan Sean Adams?

  So Erica, there's been kind of another term that's been used over the past year or so that's kind of caught some steam. Rather than crypto, people have begun to talk about this industry as Web 3, right? So the third generation of kind of the internet, right? And an internet where individual consumers get their data back. They are in control. They have full sovereignty over the data. It's no longer the big tech companies that are running things. So it's much more decentralized internet. I'm curious from your perspective. I know the term crypto has been associated with all sorts of things in politics and

• 34:55Ryan Sean Adams?

  in Capitol Hill, like drug dealer money and all of these things from the past, which we don't have to revisit that. But what do you think of the term Web 3? Does that sort of maybe renew the conversation about what the possibilities are, what the potential is for crypto? If we sort of think about that term a little bit more, does that get maybe more progressives excited and onboard with this movement?

• 35:23Speaker 02

  You know, I do find it to be exciting. I'm going to be very transparent and honest. I haven't really dug my heels into this deeply because I've been really focused on really understanding how we can leverage Bitcoin and making it a part of my campaign through Lightning and really trying to understand the transactions, how we can integrate it with small businesses. So to be honest, like I haven't really done my full due diligence, but I'm a person, like I'm so open. Like I'm open for anything that is about the future, that's innovative, that's cutting edge, that modernizes things and keeps up with the times. So I'm not against it.

• 36:03Ryan Sean Adams?

  One thing I think that you feel pretty strongly about is the way that the banking system has disenfranchised so many people, especially in impoverished communities. Where do you see crypto works its way into this conversation?

• 36:17Speaker 02

  Well, I found it interesting that Bank of America just announced that they're lowering their fees. I wonder why?

• 36:24Speaker 02

  I do have, I do have a great issue with the banking system. I think that they take advantage of people that live paycheck to paycheck, which is 75% of Americans. And I think that it's worth noting that most Americans, not most, but a large percentage of Americans, are a paycheck away from falling into financial ruin. And so if you overdraft and then you're getting all those fees, by the time you get to your next paycheck, a fourth of it's gone. So how are you supposed to get ahead? You know, I volunteer at a food bank every single Tuesday. Not today because I'm with you guys, I made this commitment, but I try to go every Tuesday. And there are people that literally work all day

• 37:05Speaker 02

  and then they sit in a, and they sit in this food bank line for another hour and a half, two hours, just to get a box of food for the week. And you know, you have to wonder, like, where are we going wrong? Like, why, like, why? I can't, people get ahead and you start talking to them and it's the banking fees. And then I also feel very strongly that pawn shops and check cashing should not be a financial institution for anyone. The interest rates are absolutely insane. And equally important, I feel very strongly that financial literacy needs to be taught in schools. Kids really need to understand personal finance. I talk to kids all the time and this is something that they're craving, it's something they want.

• 37:46Speaker 02

  They should not be going into college not knowing. So I think the banks have, also, they discriminate with loans and I have an issue with that. And so that's why I'm very, very pro Bitcoin. Because I think that it is an alternative to the banking system. And people should have options now. And it's hard to buy a house. It's like, that's a whole never arrived.

• 38:10Ryan Sean Adams?

  Can we talk a little bit more about financial literacy? Because that's something near and dear to our hearts. Like, so you're an educator. In a weird way, David and I consider ourselves a little bit of educators, too. Like, in crypto, sort of, you know, bringing stuff out of this difficult, opaque industry and, you know, telling more people about it. But a lot of people we're finding, especially kids, are actually learning finance through crypto. It's kind of interesting, right? It's like, you know, David's an example of this. But, you know, there are many others. There's a 12-year-old kid involved in the crypto industry that we know in the bankless

• 38:51Ryan Sean Adams?

  community, building all sorts of things and, you know, learning finance, learning how the world works, learning, you know, money systems through crypto. How important is financial literacy, do you think? And like, how does the US, you know, how do we change our education system to prioritize that?

• 39:15Speaker 02

  It's very important, and we need to rewrite the curriculum. It's not a standard. It's not a math standard that teachers are asked to teach. And so we have to rewrite the curriculum. I think it's incredibly vital that we do this. You know, funny thing, and I do think this is worth mentioning. When you brought up kids are starting to learn themselves, GameStop is a great example of that. Because when that happened, that was pretty epic. And ironically, I had taught the stock market to my students two weeks before. And so when that happened, it was like the most iconic teachable moment because we were able to really dive deep into that and what that all tells.

• 39:59Speaker 02

  And I think that's really, really important. And I also think that we have to... Really talk about when they take out loans, like what that means. So there's this big push to talk about like cancelling student, like the student loan debt and all that kind of stuff. But I also feel that when they are taking out the loan, that they should understand the interest on that loan. And if they were in a position like at thirty-five, forty, forty-five years old, do you still want to be paying this amount of money for this particular art degree? You know, is that an art degree, a two-hundred-thousand-dollar art degree, a big return? Is that a good return on your investment? Is that wise?

• 40:40Speaker 02

  And we need to be guiding our kids better. You know, my mom, you know, made it a point to teach me financial literacy when I was in college. And so I didn't even really get it until I was in college. And so I just think that we need to keep up with the time. And also, school is more fun when it's connected to the real world. And I think it will engage kids more. And I've always taught like that stuff in my classroom, even in second grade, we had a class bank account. I taught them how to hustle and how to make money and we saved it. And then, okay, now you guys raise X, I don't remember the amount, but you raised this amount of money. What do you want to do with it? And they actually invested the money back into their classroom and a field trip.

• 41:19Speaker 02

  So I just think it's really, really important. And it could be taught literally throughout all the grades and just age-appropriate.

• 41:27David Hoffman?

  Maybe that could be a new slogan for the crypto industry is making finance fun again, because that's certainly why I learned about crypto in the first place, was it finally made money and money stuff fun to learn about. And so I'm bullish on crypto maybe making its way into the educational system just as a route of, you know, something that kids gravitate towards, towards when they want to learn about basic math and how the economy works.

• 41:53Speaker 02

  Yeah. And you have kids that want to be entrepreneurs that are already entrepreneurs, and they don't even realize that they're being an entrepreneur. And I don't believe college is for everyone. I believe that we need to invest in trade schools. I think that we need to meet kids where they're at and not just say like, oh, that's the way to do it. Because I know a lot of people that went and got a college degree that still live at home or rent a one-bedroom apartment from someone. So, you know, a room from someone. So I do think that we need to make this a priority and keep up with the times. I really, I really do.

• 42:30David Hoffman?

  Erica, I want to ask about the status of your campaign and just for people that perhaps aren't just politically tuned in, what is the timeline? How many months until election time? How much money have you raised? How much more money do you need to raise? And what's left for you to do in order to take this seat away from Brad Sherman?

• 42:48Speaker 02

  So the primary, so this is very important. So we are California, so we are jungle primary. So that means anybody that's running, the top two people then go to the general election. So it's not like the top two Democrats and then the top two Republicans and then they go toe to toe. It's literally no matter the party, the top two people, we are number two right now. I'm really excited about that. So right now, if we, people were to vote, we'd probably make it to the, at least the generals. So that's how competitive our race is right now. So the primary dates June 7th. California just passed a law that mail-in ballots are now allowed. So that's off, that's to our advantage. So it makes it more accessible for people.

• 43:31Speaker 02

  We've raised a quarter of a million dollars, a little over a quarter of a million dollars, and we have 200,000 of that cash on hand. So we've been very fiscally responsible, holding our money until we need to. And then we, then as we get ready for a go with the vote, we are going to just, just drop all our coin and give it everything we, we need. And so to execute our entire vision that will lead us to victory, we need to raise another half a million dollars. I think that would ensure our victory. I really do. Brad had almost 4 million at the end of Q3. He's been actively fundraising because he knows that we're starting to gain momentum.

• 44:13Speaker 02

  And I want to remind people, we don't need what he has. I don't even want what he has. I don't even want to win this election with that kind of money because I think it's such a freaking waste. I just want to make sure that our message gets out to voters. I want to do it under a million dollars. And I really want this to really show that everyday people can uncease and come in to bring hope again. And so if you can just be like a $5 to $10 recurring donor between now and the end of our campaign, or...

• 44:42Speaker 02

  Donate any amount, the max donation is $2,900. We happily accept Bitcoin and crypto to our campaign. So that makes us really cool. And at the forefront of election season, we're like, we were the one of the first campaigns, I think the first to even start this. You could donate that way. And so that's the state of our campaign.

• 45:03Ryan Sean Adams?

  Well, while we're talking about it, where can people donate, Erica?

• 45:06Speaker 02

  So, erikaforcongress.com and it's A-A-R-I-K-A for Congress, F-O-R Congress. And if you follow me on Twitter, I have the link right in my bio. And yeah.

• 45:19David Hoffman?

  One of my favorite, there's a book that's very famous in the crypto space called The Sovereign Individual. And one of my favorite lessons I learned from that book is that throughout history, if two armies of equal size went head to head, it was always the army that cared about what they were fighting for that won. And so I think when Erica Rhodes receives $1, that goes a lot further than Brad Sherman receiving $1, because you are actually tapped in to who you are fighting for. And so, and so if anyone wants to help Erica Rhodes, unseat Brad Sherman, who is backed by banks, definitely there's a link in the show notes, both on the podcast and on the YouTube, to go to her page, learn more about her, learn

• 46:01David Hoffman?

  more about her policy, and then click that donate button. Erica, do you have any last messages for our listeners of the Bank of Nation?

• 46:07Speaker 02

  I do.

• 46:07David Hoffman?

  Yeah, go for it.

• 46:08Speaker 02

  I do. I want to say something about our campaign dollars. We are very intentional about being a community service driven campaign and empowering youth campaign. So, any young person that's 16 or older that wants to canvass our campaign, we actually pay them. I actually pay them for their time because gas is really expensive. And so I want to make it very clear that we do our due diligence and we do the right thing with our campaign money. Also, we started a lending library program. We were able to do a community garden that's free for our D and deaf youth, foster youth. And so even if we were to lose, I don't think we will, but if we were, we've done a lot of good with the money. So it's not just a waste. It really upset me.

• 46:52Speaker 02

  During the 2020 races, people would raise millions and millions of dollars, just run ads and then they lose. And it's like, well, where all that money go? You know, and so I was very intentional about making sure that a, you know, a percentage of it filters back into the community that we do good along the way and that our youth can leverage off of our, our campaign. And I'm very proud to say, pretty much every single kid that ever had worked for us ended up going to the school of their choice because we were able to write meaningful letters of recommendations. They were able to put, you know, really cool experiences that they've had on our campaign. And there are future senators, you know, president, one wants to be a president, and they're also very pro Bitcoin.

• 47:34Speaker 02

  So I just want to plug that because I don't think people pay attention to where the money goes that much. Because it gets like, oh, gotta be Brad, gotta be Brad. But we also have to do good along the way and, and really uphold integrity, be principled, have values. And, and, and let this race really mean something when it's all said and done. And that's all I want to say.

• 47:56Ryan Sean Adams?

  That's fantastic, Erica. You know, thank you so much. This has been great. I, you know, I want to just maybe address one, one last cohort. I think we addressed the, the apathetic listener who's really not into politics earlier in the show. But can we talk to the, the listener who's maybe doesn't typically vote blue or your side of the, the aisle at all? Because I think what we're seeing a lot in crypto is single issue voters, right? The rise of people who like crypto is a bipartisan issue, at least it should be. It's not a Democrat or Republican thing. It's not a red or a blue thing. It's, it's completely bipartisan. So how, how would you represent the, the single issue voter?

• 48:39Ryan Sean Adams?

  And why is it important for a single issue voter to vote for a pro crypto candidate rather than a Brad Sherman? Can you make that case too?

• 48:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, you know, I think it's important to vote because that's your citizen and that's just your, you know, that's sacred and you know, that's just something special and it does matter. Elections have been lost off of 100 votes, 500 votes, and I would hate for us to have this really supreme opportunity and lose it because we didn't get a couple hundred votes. So that's one. Two, you can see the hearings, Stable Coins is coming up again in a couple of weeks. There's another one in February. So it is a political issue. And if it's something that you care about, it takes five minutes to go cast a vote. Probably takes 30 seconds to register and five minutes to actually vote. And I think

• 49:29Speaker 02

  it's, I think it's really important. And just out of, and I'm gonna just be honest, I was gonna say it. I am a teacher. I like, I'm really doing the best that I can. I'm really genuinely trying to make a difference. So if you live in the 32nd district, just vote for me. Because I really like, I'm a regular person and I'm really trying my best. Like, this is the best way I know how to advocate for young people and for everyday people. And so that I hope incentivizes you to cast a vote because I am a decent person. I'm not, I don't have, my mom is a 20, like, no, she's a $5 recurring donor. And then

• 50:11Speaker 02

  when we had, when we were trying to raise our last $23,000, my dad gave $25. He was like, because I don't come from money. I'm just, I'm super regular. So I hope that will inspire people to, to, to cast a vote and to chip in a little bit to help us win.

• 50:27Ryan Sean Adams?

  There you go, Erica Rhodes. We are cheering from you. And make sure you come back and keep us updated on the campaign. Let's get Brad Sherman out, Bankless Nation. Erica Rhodes, thank you so much for joining us.

• 50:38Speaker 02

  Thank you. Thank you so much.

• 50:39Ryan Sean Adams?

  Guys, risks and disclaimers. We didn't talk about financial advice this time, but we never do because Bankless never provides financial advice. Of course, ETH is risky, Bitcoin is risky, all of crypto is risky. You could definitely lose what you put in. But we are headed west. This is the frontier. It's not for everyone, but we're glad you're with us on the Bankless journey. Thanks.