Trump’s crypto embrace is winning him votes, poll shows

A recent survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University has revealed that former President Donald Trump’s efforts to court cryptocurrency holders are paying off in the 2024 US presidential election season.

Trump’s embrace of cryptocurrency appears to be working. An FDU poll found that Trump has a significant lead among voters who own crypto or related assets, trailing Vice President Kamala Harris by 12 percentage points in the 2024 US presidential race.

The poll shows that 50% of likely voters who own crypto support Trump, compared to 38% who support Harris. By contrast, among those who don’t own crypto, Harris has a 12-point lead with 53% support to Trump’s 41%.

The FDU Survey also found that 15% of registered voters in the US own crypto, NFTs or similar digital goods. This group is disproportionately made up of men, younger voters and members of racial minority groups.

Interestingly, while Republicans are slightly more likely to own cryptocurrencies than Democrats, this difference does not fully explain the 24-point shift in presidential support between cryptocurrency owners and non-cryptocurrency owners, according to the survey.

Cryptocurrencies are at the helm during this election season

This election season, both parties have aimed to appeal to the crypto community and its financial contributions by appealing to the crypto community. The support among crypto holders shows the growing influence of digital assets in American politics.

“Trump is reaching out to the crypto community and it seems to be working. It might be easy to dismiss them as unimportant, but I think people don’t fully realize how widespread crypto ownership is.”

Professor Dan Cassino, Conducting Director of the Survey.

Trump didn’t shy away from expressing a pro-crypto sentiment during his last campaign. Trump’s stance on cryptocurrency stands in sharp contrast to his previous criticisms, when he famously called cryptocurrencies a “fraud” in a 2021 interview.

But Trump has said this election cycle that he will embrace crypto in his next presidency. “Crypto is leaving the United States because of hostility toward it. I don’t want that. If we’re going to embrace it, we have to allow them to be here,” he said at a recent rally.

Trump’s strategy to influence the crypto community has been evident in recent months. In July, he delivered a keynote speech at Bitcoin2024 in Nashville, voicing strong support for the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry despite concerns about its environmental impact.

Trump announced plans to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” if he is re-elected on Aug. 29, pointing to a venture called World Liberty Financial to be led by his sons. While details are limited, the project reportedly focuses on real-world asset tokenization.

Trump’s campaign introduced a fundraising page on May 21 that accepts donations in all cryptocurrencies available on the Coinbase platform.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats led by Harris’ campaign team launched the Crypto4Harris initiative in early August to engage with the crypto community and counter Republican efforts to attract crypto voters. The campaign aims to develop a pro-crypto policy framework to repair Harris’ relationship with the crypto industry.

As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Trump’s crypto support could be important in swaying undecided voters, especially among demographic groups that traditionally lean toward the Democratic Party.