Over the weekend, US Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris acknowledged the crypto industry for the first time since her campaign started. The presidential candidate’s “flip” has sparked a discussion among industry members and the community, who seem split about her newly disclosed stance.
A Harris Win Could ‘Not Be Bearish’ For Crypto
As the US presidential elections approach, the Democratic nominee has been heavily criticized for not disclosing her stance on digital assets after the Biden-Harris administration’s 3-year-long crackdown on the sector.
It wasn’t until Sunday, at a Wall Street fundraiser event in Manhattan, that the US VP pledged to invest in America’s future by encouraging investment in digital assets and artificial intelligence (AI):
We will partner together to invest in America’s competitiveness, to invest in America’s future. We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors.
VP Harris also promised to work on a clear, consistent, and transparent set of rules to foster a safe business environment for the different industries in the US:
We will create a safe business environment with consistent and transparent rules of the road (…), and we will cut needless bureaucracy.
Following Harris’ apparent “pro-crypto flip,” QCP Capital suggested on its Telegram group that her victory in November “may not be as bearish as the market thinks.” The crypto firm noted that the presidential candidate’s remarks, alongside the “macro tailwinds, gave crypto a boost to start the week.”
This boost made the flagship cryptocurrency’s price retest the $64,000 resistance level in the early hours of Monday, which triggered almost $60 million in short liquidations, QCP reported.
Community’s Sentiment Split
The Democratic nominee’s campaign had been slowly shortening distances from the industry by indirectly accepting donations in digital assets and being endorsed by different industry figures.
Moreover, Harris has seemingly been working with a group of crypto and Bitcoin advocates, including SkyBridge Capital’s founder, Anthony Scaramucci. On Thursday, Scaramucci announced at a panel at TOKEN2049 that they were collaborating with the presidential candidate to work on her campaign’s policies.
The entrepreneur also claimed they were trying to “distance” the Democratic Party from industry foes like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Despite this, neither Harris nor her campaign had made her stance on the crypto industry clear until Sunday. As a result, the community began discussing the market implications for the sector.
Scaramucci wrote on X that Harris’s remark “means Bitcoin in every language.” However, many criticized the lack of details on the policies that could affect the industry.
Some crypto investors consider that the presidential candidate’s vague approach isn’t enough, suggesting that Harris may have to disclose and explain her stance before they “believe her.” Meanwhile, others think her VP’s newly disclosed stance is a positive development for the sector.
Variant’s CLO Jake Chervinsky considers “this is progress and progress is good…” but suggested he’d wait for more details. Similarly, Alexander Grieve, Paradigm’s vice president of Government Affairs, called Harris’s comments “encouraging.”
Ultimately, Grieve believes this “should be the last anti-crypto administration,” regardless of the outcome. He asserted that Trump and Harris’ approach to the industry would differ, and staffing would play a big role in both cases, “but the direction of travel for crypto in the US is clear.”
