Harris dips a toe in the crypto waters — is it enough?

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ team has finally broken its silence on cryptocurrency. Is this cautious approach too little, too late?

Kamala Harris’ campaign has been conspicuously silent on the subject of crypto for months, leading many to speculate about the Democratic candidate’s stance on the industry. However, it appears the wait is over.

At a roundtable event at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday, Harris’ senior campaign adviser Brian Nelson offered some insight into her potential policies, Bloomberg reported this week.

Nelson noted that Vice President Harris will “support policies that will ensure emerging technologies and such industries continue to grow.” While the statement is vague and refers to “emerging technologies” more broadly, it represents the first public, official stance by Harris’ team on the crypto industry.

Nelson also underlined the need for clear regulations, citing the consequences of events such as the collapse of FTX in November 2022.

The Harris campaign’s cautious outpouring of support for the sector thus far contrasts sharply with Republican nominee Donald Trump’s rhetoric and promises during his campaign, despite his outspoken support for crypto, calling Bitcoin a “fraud” and expressing concerns that it poses a threat to the U.S. dollar.

In a historic keynote speech at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Trump vowed to fire the (crypto industry) highly unpopular Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler — a statement that was met with applause from the audience. In the same speech, he also announced his intention to create a national Bitcoin strategic reserve in the United States if elected. In another example, he pledged support for U.S. crypto miners.

Now that both candidates have announced their views on the industry, it’s clear that the future of crypto in the U.S. could go very different paths depending on the election outcome, and that this is slowly becoming an emerging bipartisan issue.

Let’s take a deeper look at what this could mean for the crypto industry and how Harris’ emerging position could shape the space in the future.

Tough fight for Harris

Harris faces a tough landscape to win over crypto-focused voters who are already frustrated with the current administration’s strict policies, particularly the overly authoritarian stance of the SEC under Gensler.

The Harris team’s cautious but positive first public statement this week may mark a turning point, but other recent events from the Harris campaign continue to cloud sentiment in the crypto community.

Just before the 2024 DNC kicks off in Chicago and a few days before Nelson’s announcement, the Democratic Party released its final platform, a 92-page document written in very plain language while President Biden is still running for a second term. There was not a single mention of crypto in the program — a fact that has been widely criticized in the industry. While some analysts saw the absence as a potentially positive development, many in the community interpreted it as a continuation of the Biden-era approach to crypto.

Also this week, Harris received backlash from the crypto community after widespread misinformation that the Vice President supported an earlier proposal by President Biden to impose a tax on unrealized capital gains.

The rumor gained traction on X, with many disgruntled crypto investors mistakenly believing that Harris supported a tax that could force them to liquidate a significant portion of their portfolios. In reality, the potential tax policy, which was floated by the Biden administration in March as a 2025 policy proposal, is unlikely to affect most U.S. cryptocurrency holders because it would only apply to Americans with net worth greater than $100 million.

Harris faced criticism a week ago for not attending a virtual meeting organized by grassroots industry campaign Crypto4Harris. The event was seen as a missed opportunity to engage directly with the crypto community and build trust. Harris’ own absence was particularly noticeable and left many viewers disappointed.

High-profile endorsements from the likes of Mark Cuban and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as pre-recorded messages from Senator Gillibrand and others, failed to impress viewers and left them with more questions than answers.

In light of these recent events, the Harris team’s public statement supporting the crypto sector on Wednesday could be seen as a positive first step in addressing these concerns. But as the public outcry has proven, words alone will not suffice.

Public reaction and distrust

Despite the Harris campaign’s latest statement, many in the crypto community remain unconvinced and cautious about trusting her as a true advocate for the industry.

Cardano (ADA) co-founder Charles Hoskinson expressed a sentiment that resonated with many: Talk is cheap. He questioned the lack of specific policies or proposals and called for “specific, concrete actions” to support the crypto industry.

No specific policy or proposal. Just talk. Will Gary be fired? What legislation do you support? What executive actions will be enacted? Why haven’t you changed policy IMMEDIATELY since you became President?

Sorry there is ZERO trust. We need specific, tangible actions. https://t.co/iWG6Jq0Ggt

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) August 21, 2024

Hoskinson’s doubts were echoed by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, who noted that Nelson, a senior Harris campaign adviser, did not even use the words “crypto or digital assets” in his statement.

🚨NEW: Harris campaign advisor Brian Nelson said: @KamalaHarris We will support policies that ensure emerging technologies continue to grow.

They’ll probably yell at me for pointing out that he didn’t use the words crypto or digital assets, just “this type of industry.” https://t.co/4gvC3gktJl

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) August 21, 2024

On the other hand, there are voices like Adam Cochran, founder of Cinneamhain Ventures and an active industry commentator on X, who see this announcement as a positive first step, all things considered.

This may not be enough for some of you, and that’s okay.

We want to see policies, we want to see actions.

BUT this is the first official statement from the Harris campaign in *any* capacity about crypto, and it’s a *positive* one.

Let’s admit that this is a huge step… https://t.co/DO73iUfsdq

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) August 21, 2024

Cochran acknowledged frustration with the lack of concrete action or policy within the community, but urged people to acknowledge the importance of the fact that this is the first time Harris’ campaign has officially addressed crypto in any form. However, even the attempt to instill optimism has been met with backlash.

Critics quickly dismissed Cochran’s optimism, noting that the past four years have shown Harris little to no support for the crypto industry. They argue that her actions — or inactions — speak louder than the vague statements from her campaign team.

Adam, with all due respect, the last four years should be a testament to what the next four years under a Harris administration will be like. They’ve shown us that time and time again with their actions.🤷🏻‍♂️

— Adam Killam (@adamkillam) August 21, 2024

Others questioned why Harris had not done more to support the industry earlier, given her position as Vice President.

Dude, he’s literally the vice president right now, why hasn’t he done anything to support the industry so far?

— han(s)* (@HansTheElder) August 21, 2024

Demand for specific, actionable policies remains strong, and until they are delivered, many in the crypto industry will continue to be skeptical of Democratic candidates’ statements. Harris has made her move, but it will take much more to convince a community that has long felt neglected.

What do the experts think?

To gain a deeper understanding of the potential impact of Harris’ emerging stance on cryptocurrencies, crypto.news spoke with two experts on the subject.

Nick Anthony, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, offered a candid perspective on Harris’ position. Anthony highlighted the challenges Harris faces, telling crypto.news that while some Democrats have managed to maintain a bipartisan approach to crypto policy, Harris still has a lot to prove:

“Individual Democrats have done a good job of trying to keep crypto policy bipartisan. But if Vice President Harris is going to emerge from the shadow of Operation Choke Point 2.0 and Senator Warren’s anti-crypto army, she too must take a formal policy stance. Until then, there is little reason to think that a Harris-Walz administration will be any different than a Biden-Harris administration.”

The term “Operation Bottleneck 2.0” refers to the recent targeted crackdown on crypto businesses in the U.S., under the guise of blanket regulatory enforcement. Many in the industry argue that such measures not only stifle innovation, but also amount to abuse and manipulation of the law.

Adding to this discussion, Stealth Startup co-founder and CTO Nitin Gaur expressed his concerns regarding the current administration’s approach to cryptocurrencies, telling crypto.news:

“The current government apparatus’s unjust war on crypto and Operation Choke Point 2.0 is a shotgun approach to thwart the growth of an industry. This is not about crypto as a currency, but a new technology that aims to unravel the trust system and coordination technology to advance transaction speed.”

He emphasized the need for meaningful policies that take into account the intersections of technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum computing, which have the potential to transform not only the financial sector but also other areas.

“The current administration has ignored all neighbourhoods and focused on the ‘currency’ part of the equation. It should take its time and come up with meaningful policies,” Gaur warned.

Both experts agree that the path forward requires more than just blanket statements. The crypto world remains cautious in its current state, waiting to see if Harris can truly differentiate herself and her policies from those of the current administration.