With the U.S. elections drawing near, Vice President Kamala Harris is actively reaching out to the digital currency community, aligning her campaign with her “Opportunity Economy” program.
Kamala Harris’s most recent action
In a strategic move before the 2024 U.S. elections, Harris has revealed plans to establish a regulatory structure for cryptocurrencies. This move is specifically aimed at safeguarding African American investors.
Expanding on this, the official announcement stated,
“Vice President Harris acknowledges that more than 20% of African Americans own or have previously owned digital currency assets. Consequently, her initiatives seek to ensure that holders and investors of digital assets receive the benefits of a regulatory framework to protect Black men and other participants in this market.”
This step is part of her broader dedication to creating opportunities for wealth accumulation within the African American community.
This announcement comes after her recent endorsement of both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies, demonstrating a concentrated effort to address the financial inequalities experienced by marginalized groups while endorsing innovative financial technologies.
Responses from the Community
Harris is increasingly perceived as a supporter of cryptocurrencies open to bipartisan actions aimed at shaping regulatory frameworks for digital assets.
However, her shift towards cryptocurrency has evoked mixed reactions, with some individuals in the community remaining doubtful about her motives.
While her stance has attracted attention from proponents of regulatory transparency, a portion of the cryptocurrency space questions whether her agenda aligns with the industry’s vision of decentralized finance and genuine financial autonomy.
For example, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Invest, remarked,
Nonetheless, the evaluations of Harris within the cryptocurrency community are not entirely negative.
Several prominent figures have voiced their support for her strategies.
For instance, Mark Cuban, in an interview with Farokh Radio, expressed confidence in Harris’s influence on the cryptocurrency sphere. He mentioned,
“I’m not affiliated with the Democrats; I am independent. I am collaborating with the Harris campaign, that’s all. I just believe she is a superior candidate.”
Furthermore, analysts at VanEck proposed that Bitcoin [BTC] is likely to remain robust irrespective of the 2024 election results.
Nevertheless, analyst Mathew Sigel pointed out that Bitcoin may experience greater advantages under a Kamala Harris administration in contrast to one helmed by Trump.
Trump vs. Harris
Despite Harris’s advocacies for cryptocurrencies, recent polling data from Polymarket shows Donald Trump leading with 56.5% of the votes, while Harris trails at 43%.
This reflects Trump’s substantial influence, backed by endorsements from notable figures like Elon Musk and Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson.
Thus, to narrow this gap, Harris might need to introduce initiatives beyond her recent cryptocurrency-focused proposals.