Vice President Kamala Harris will support policies to foster the cryptocurrency industry, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The comments from Brian Nelson, a senior campaign advisor on policy, came at a Bloomberg roundtable event hosted at the Democratic National Convention taking place in Chicago. The outlet asked Nelson about Harris and efforts to engage with the crypto community.
“She’s going to support policies that ensure that emerging technologies and that sort of industry can continue to grow,” Nelson reportedly said. “Obviously, they’ve expressed that one of the things that they need are stable rules, rules of the road.”
His statements are the most direct acknowledgment of crypto yet from the Harris campaign, as the industry—and government regulation of it—has surged in prominence among crypto and business leaders ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
Democratic National Committee Chair Met With Bitcoin Miner Marathon, Exec Says
Marathon Digital executives met earlier this month with Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie R. Harrison and his advisors, the Bitcoin mining firm’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jayson Browder told Decrypt. The revelation is another sign that Democrats are taking heed of the crypto crowd, despite the industry’s lack of representation in the party’s newly released platform. The meeting, which was held on August 5 with Marathon CEO Fred Thiel and Government Affairs Associate Le...
“This is the first official statement from the Harris campaign about crypto in any capacity, and it is a positive one,” wrote prominent crypto analyst Adam Cochrane. “Let’s acknowledge that’s a huge step.”
“I’ve been working hard to push for a reset on crypto, and am thrilled about this important policy statement,” added U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC).
Prior to the Bloomberg report, there had been scant details about what a possible Harris administration would do when it came to crypto regulation. Critics have linked her to the policies of President Joe Biden, which included ongoing enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and its chair, Gary Gensler.
The Republican Party, and former president Donald Trump, have meanwhile expressed strong support of crypto, railing against Gensler and his “war on crypto.”
Democratic Party Platform Makes No Mention of Bitcoin or Crypto
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) unveiled its official platform on Sunday, with no mention of cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology in its nearly 100-page manifesto. The document is expected to receive approval from delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday. It is unclear if the document will be changed before then. The DNC platform’s omission of cryptocurrencies marks a strong contrast to the rival Republican platform, which included several pro-crypto d...
In recent weeks, however, there have been signs of more engagement from the Democratic side. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), majority leader in the U.S. Senate, participated in a Crypto4Harris event last week, vowing to pass cryptocurrency legislation out of the Senate before the end of the year.
“I believe Washington cannot just look away from crypto, stick our heads in the sand, and do nothing,” he said.
Billionaire and noted Bitcoin enthusiast Mark Cuban told Decrypt last month that the Harris campaign had contacted him with “multiple questions” about crypto, describing it as “a good sign.”
The head of the Democratic National Committee, Jamie R. Harrison, also met with executives from Bitcoin mining firm Mining Digital earlier this month.
