Aug 15 (Reuters) - Billionaire Mark Cuban, Wall Street

financier Anthony Scaramucci and congressman Adam Schiff were

among a group of cryptocurrency advocates who called on Kamala

Harris to reset the Democratic party's policy on digital assets

ahead of the November election.

On Wednesday night, the new group Crypto4Harris convened its

first virtual gathering to discuss how it can support the Vice

President's electoral campaign, while also calling for Harris to

end the Biden administration's crackdown on the cryptocurrency

industry.

In a sign of how urgently crypto has become an election

issue for Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

appeared and said he wanted to pass a crypto bill this year,

without elaborating.

"We cannot afford to continue to sit on the sidelines

because then we risk crypto going overseas," he said.

The group also said it is planning nationwide grassroots

fundraisers in September to support Harris.

"The chief goal of everything we're doing is to have a

complete reset on crypto and blockchain policy," Jonathan

Padilla, CEO of blockchain company Snickerdoodle Labs and one of

the group's organizers told Reuters ahead of the gathering.

Crypto4Harris has begun "early engagement" with the Harris

campaign and plans to draw up a list of potential

crypto-friendly picks for regulators including the Securities

and Exchange Commission (SEC), should Harris win, he added.

The group is not affiliated with the Harris campaign, which

has yet to take a stance on cryptocurrencies and declined to

comment for this story.

Crypto4Harris is part of a growing effort by Democrats and

others in the crypto industry to push nonpartisanship rather

than hitch their wagon to Republican nominee Donald Trump, who

has courted crypto donors with promises of friendly policies.

That effort also suggests some crypto companies are hedging

their bets as Harris gains on Trump in some polls.

"There's a real chance to open this issue up and to reclaim

it from the Republican side," said Rashan Colbert, head of

policy at crypto exchange dYdX and a member of Crypto4Harris.

At the town hall, Scaramucci, founder of Skybridge Capital,

urged lawmakers "to make cryptocurrency regulation positive and

bipartisan." In a statement to Reuters ahead of the meeting, he

said the Harris campaign was open-minded about digital assets.

Under Biden, the SEC has brought multiple crypto enforcement

actions, arguing crypto tokens and their operators are subject

to securities laws. The industry disputes that and wants new

rules that would foster the technology.

Several Democratic lawmakers last month flagged concerns to

the Democratic National Committee that the SEC's stance has

alienated some voters, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Harris campaign staff have met with prominent crypto firms

including Coinbase and Ripple since she became the

presumptive Democratic nominee last month, said three people

familiar with the matter. While those discussions were not

substantive, two of the sources said they were optimistic

Harris' campaign might signal an openness to tech innovation.

At the DNC convention next week, tech groups are also

hosting a panel on digital assets featuring lawmakers and other

industry executives, according to two different sources. While

not a part of the official program, the panel could provide a

venue for Democrats to develop clearer crypto policies, one

said.

Crenshaw and the DNC did not respond to requests for

comment.