Mark Cuban educates comedian Jon Stewart on crypto

In one of his first interviews after supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election, billionaire and Cost Plus Drugs co-founder Mark Cuban appeared on Daily Show part-time host Jon Stewart’s podcast to discuss digital assets. 

In a Dec. 12 episode of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Cuban said he strongly pushed for the Harris campaign to target young men in the 2024 election, in part based on their affinity for crypto and feeling “part of a community.”

The billionaire said he spoke to Vice President Harris and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler that the administration’s policies on crypto “could cost her the election.”

“There’s an argument to be made when you look at the numbers: A whole lot of young men voted against Kamala Harris,” said Cuban. “I think crypto had a lot to do with it.”

Promoting Mark Cuban’s appearance on Jon Stewart’s podcast. Source: The Weekly Show

Cuban put his name forward as a possible replacement for Gensler in the event Harris was victorious on Nov. 5. After Donald Trump won the US presidential election, he said he intended to nominate former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to chair the regulatory body in 2025.

A comedian’s crypto lesson

Stewart described himself as someone who knew “slightly about blockchain” but compared investing in tokens with gambling. Cuban went into detail, educating the comedian about digital assets and comparing Bitcoin (BTC) to digital gold. He also explained how Gensler regulated many tokens as securities, the cryptocurrency’s store of value, supply limit, and remitting funds “faster and cheaper.” 

“I apologize for making you do this remedially,” Stewart said to Cuban about his explanation of crypto. “But I really don’t know it so well, and I would like to know it.”

The comedian added:

Related: Not buying Bitcoin early was the ‘biggest mistake I’ve ever made’ — Trevor Noah

Stewart, who hosted the news and entertainment program The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015 before returning as a part-time host in 2024, is far from the first high-profile comedian to express uncertainty about the digital asset industry. In 2020, BTC proponent Anthony Pompliano spoke to Bill Burr on a podcast, prompting the comedian to say he would invest in the cryptocurrency.

The Daily Show star has interviewed Cuban many times in his role as a TV host and podcaster. The pair discussed cryptocurrencies, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and Cuban’s investment strategies in a 2022 podcast before a significant market downturn that would envelop FTX, Voyager Digital, Celsius and other firms.

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