Billionaire tech and sportscaster Mark Cuban recently appeared on comedian Jon Stewart’s podcast and taught him about the intricacies of digital assets.
On December 12, Cuban was invited onto The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart and delved into the world of cryptocurrencies, from Bitcoin to the regulatory landscape, answering questions posed by Stewart, a crypto novice who proved little more than that.
Cuban’s public support for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election led to the conversation. He explained how he recommended to the Harris campaign to focus on younger male voters who were young and interested in crypto and which digital currency communities would make them feel like they were part of a family.
Cuban Discusses Crypto’s Impact on Harris’ Election Campaign
Cuban said the numbers don’t lie. “Crypto had a lot to do with it. A whole lot of young men voted against Kamala Harris.” He said he even had warned Harris and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler that the administration’s cryptocurrency policy was putting her re-election campaign at risk.
Cuban also mentioned the possibility that his efforts might persuade Harris to reverse his position on digital currency, and if the administration were to swap Gensler in 2025, he could fill the federal seat. After Donald Trump was elected, Cuban signaled he would support former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins for the job.
With a political bent of his own, Cuban’s real passion in the interview was to get Stewart schooled in the wild world of crypto. That’s when Cuban, who averred he wasn’t well versed in blockchain, went deep into the subject with Stewart, who admitted he didn’t really understand blockchain and described digital token investing as akin to gambling.
Stewart quipped into his conversation that this was beginning to feel like Digital Currency for Dummies, joking that he didn’t know much. Unfazed, Cuban explained the basics of Bitcoin as digital gold and how cryptocurrencies can be a store of value, including Bitcoin’s limited supply.
Cuban said the SEC’s shoddy classification of many tokens as securities and its inability to quickly and cheaply raise funds with blockchain technology are two issues he raised.
“I’m sorry,” Stewart said to Cuban, thanking him for the in-depth breakdown. “I really don’t know it so well and want to know it.”
Public interest in cryptocurrency has been growing, even among people not directly involved in the industry, and the interview comes as such. That’s not the first time a high-profile comedian has questioned crypto. In 2020 comedian Bill Burr, who had a similar talk with popular Bitcoin advocate Anthony Pompliano, deliberated whether or not he should invest in Bitcoin.
Cuban and Stewart’s exchange is just the latest in a growing pr could of media coverage of cryptocurrency. Stewart and the two have previously had these discussions on The Daily Show, which Stewart hosted for more than a decade before part-time last year. On the podcast, their conversation called out the increased prominence of crypto in general dialogue while calling for straightening out the message concerning the digital asset world.
