The crypto world was abuzz this week with rumors that Kamala Harris, the newly declared Democratic presidential candidate, was in talks to speak at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.
While the campaign ultimately confirmed that Harris would not be able to attend, the fact that her team was seriously considering the invitation signals a potential shift in the Democratic Party’s approach to digital assets, as crypto has played a key role in the presidential race.
Harris’ Rumored Pro-Bitcoin Advisors
Under the Biden administration, crypto has faced an increasingly hostile regulatory environment, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ramping up enforcement actions against various firms in the industry, including Binance, Coinbase, and Ripple.
Biden’s economic advisors have included outspoken crypto critics such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, casting a pall of uncertainty over the future of digital assets, in stark contrast to the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF markets in January and last Monday, respectively.
However, sources from the Harris campaign suggest that the California senator may be “more open-minded” regarding cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
According to one crypto lobbyist and former White House advisor who spoke to Fortune on the condition of anonymity, her tech advisor is believed to be pro-crypto, and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, is a “crypto guy.” crypto lobbyist said:
She doesn’t have a lot of time to redefine herself. She has a very short window to kind of definitively say that she’s her own person.
Adding to the potential shift in stance on crypto, billionaire investor and Bitcoin enthusiast Mark Cuban revealed that he has received “multiple questions from the Harris camp about crypto,” further fueling hopes that a Harris presidency could usher in a more collaborative approach between regulators and key industry players.
Kamala Harris’ California Ties And Pro-Business Record
The contrast with the Biden administration’s position is strong. “President Joe Biden’s campaign would have offered an automatic rejection” of an invitation to speak at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, according to the Fortune report.
The current White House has been slow to pass crypto-related legislation in Congress, while the SEC has ramped up enforcement actions under the leadership of Chairman Gary Gensler.
On the other hand, Kamala Harris has a history of advocating for Silicon Valley as a US senator representing California. The report notes that she has cultivated “close relationships” with tech industry leaders, including Meta’s Sheryl Sandberg, earning a reputation as a pro-business politician.
This background, combined with the “crypto-friendly” connections within her own team, has the industry hopeful that a Harris presidency could significantly shift the government’s approach to digital assets.
However, it remains to be seen whether these hopes will translate into concrete policy changes in the months and years ahead.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $67,590, up over 4% in the past 24 hours from a weekly low of $63,500.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com