Kamala Harris breaks silence on crypto, vows to aid sector

After a long-held silence on the crypto industry, Kamala Harris has advocated blockchain in her latest speech, signalling she would be more supportive of the crypto industry than the Joe Biden administration.

Harris, speaking at a recent campaign, said she would recommit the United States “to global leadership in the sectors that will define the next century… remain dominant in AI and quantum computing, blockchain and other emerging technologies.”

At a New York fundraising event held on 22 September, Harris said she wanted to “invest in America’s competitiveness.”

Mentioning crypto for the first time, she said, “We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors.” She said that her campaign is conducting outreach to the industry.

This marks a turnaround from the Biden administration, where the White House has been leading a crackdown on crypto firms in recent years. Recent clampdowns include Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of FTX, receiving 25 years in jail for fraud and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao getting four months in prison and the company paying a hefty fine.

However, the digital assets were mentioned only briefly in her 80-page economic plan.

Reactions to Harris’ statements

Venture capitalist Adam Cochran termed her statements as “progress,” adding that “she is very much interested in US financial dominance and US tech supremacy.” He further said that Harris doesn’t stand to gain much from the crypto crowd by promoting it anymore at this stage.

However, some do not believe in what Harris has to say. Skeptics believe that she could reverse this course after she got elected and continue to crack down on crypto like the Biden administration.

Her latest comments on the industry have altered the rating given by the Coinbase-backed crypto collective ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. She had received a B rating for her recent comments about the industry, which were changed to N/A because she has yet to unveil her policy on digital assets officially.