CD 10 Democratic candidate Maxwell Frost sets up crypto advisory council

Democratic congressional candidate Maxwell Alejandro Frost is setting up a national council to advise him on cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies so that he might champion regulatory policy to utilize them, his campaign announced Thursday.

“I’ve seen a growing number of community-based organizations and individuals here in Central Florida teaching cryptocurrency to folks in our poorest zip codes,” Frost said in a news release.

“I’ve been contacted by many of them about leaning in to learn how it could be used to benefit people in Central Florida. This campaign is about listening to the wants and needs of our constituents and taking action. Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are the future and they are here to stay.”

Frost’s move follows that of another Democratic contender in Florida’s 10th Congressional District, state Sen. Randolph Bracy. Earlier this month, Bracy announced he was forming a Central Florida cryptocurrency legislative caucus of both state and federal lawmakers to sound out blockchain and cryptocurrency legislative possibilities.

Bracy’s caucus includes Democratic U.S. Rep. Darren Soto of Kissimmee, an active Congressman in the federal crypto legislative debates.

Frost’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Advisory Council will include a Democratic Congressman from New York, Ritchie Torres, whom Frost’s campaign says is a “leading proponent for smart cryptocurrency and blockchain regulation.”

Frost and Bracy are in a battle for the north-central Orange County CD 10 seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings, who’s running for the Senate. The seat used to represent a northwestern Orange County district before Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the new redistricting map last Friday shifting it eastward.

Fifteen other candidates also have filed to run there. Democrat candidates include the Rev. Terence Gray and lawyer Natalie Jackson. The Republicans include nonprofit executive Willie Montague and retired Army Col. Cal Wimbish.

As drawn, the new CD 10 retains a strong Democratic lean in the voter base, based on the past two General Elections.

Other members of Frost’s advisory council include Tonya Evans, a Penn State law professor who teaches on blockchain and the law; Deb Callahan, a former League of Conservation Voters president; Justin Slaughter, a former senior advisor at the Securities and Exchange Commission; Marta Belcher, a civil liberties and cryptocurrency attorney; Adelle Nazarian, chief executive of the American Blockchain Political Action Committee; Sean McElwee, cofounder of Data for Progress; and Leah Hunt-Hendrix, cofounder of Way to Win.