Kamala Harris speaks out on cryptocurrencies for the first time

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris made her first public statement on cryptocurrencies yesterday. At a fundraiser in New York, the Democrat emphasized that she would support the industry as part of her economic policy, as Bloomberg reported.

We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets, while protecting our consumers and investors.
_{Kamala Harris}

Even though Harris also mentions consumer and investor protection in the same breath, the statement can be seen as crypto-friendly. This means that both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have positioned themselves positively towards the asset class during the presidential election campaign.

In the course of this, the current Vice President stated that with her there will be regulatory clarity and investments in future industries.

We will create a safe business environment with consistent and transparent rules of the road. We will invest in semiconductors, clean energy and other industries of the future, and we will cut needless bureaucracy.
_{Kamala Harris}

With the campaign event at the Cipriani Wall Street restaurant in Manhattan, Harris succeeded in raising 27 million US dollars in campaign donations.

Although Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies appear to be playing a major role in this year's US presidential election campaign, the Democratic candidate remained silent on the issue until yesterday. Nevertheless, the Democrats had already made efforts to win over the ever-growing community behind digital assets.

After Donald Trump discovered Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a campaign issue in May of this year, the first reports emerged that then-candidate Joe Biden's team was meeting with representatives from the crypto sector to seek advice on how to deal with the industry and its many users - Blocktrainer.de reported.

At the time, there were even reports that Biden's campaign team was trying to emulate Donald Trump and also accept donations in Bitcoin and the like. Shortly afterwards, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna organized a roundtable with politicians and people from the crypto industry, which was ultimately attended by Biden's senior campaign advisor Anita Dunn.

When the incumbent president withdrew his candidacy on July 21 and Vice President Kamala Harris took the helm, cryptocurrencies became a breath of fresh air again. Immediately afterwards, there were reportedly even talks as to whether Harris would speak at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville, as Trump did. In addition, crypto-friendly billionaire Mark Cuban reported that Harris' team had approached him with questions regarding digital assets - Blocktrainer.de reported.

Industry representatives and politicians even set up a lobby group, "Crypto For Harris", in order not to leave the playing field to Trump with regard to Bitcoin and Co. However, the first meeting, at which Harris himself was not present, was more of a flop according to the participants.

Things got more concrete when a senior campaign advisor to Kamala Harris was asked about the Democratic candidate's efforts regarding the crypto community during a roundtable discussion at the Democratic convention on August 21. Brian Nelson replied that "she’s going to support policies that ensure that emerging technologies and that sort of industry can continue to grow" - Blocktrainer.com reported.

Despite the Democrats' attempts at rapprochement with the crypto community, which is unlikely to speak too well of Biden and Harris due to the regulatory curbs of recent years, Bitcoin and crypto-friendly comments from the Democratic frontrunner were a long time coming until yesterday.

However, the fact that Harris has now publicly pledged her support for the sector shows that the asset class has become relevant enough that the leading contenders for the office of US president cannot avoid including Bitcoin and Co. in their election campaigns.

Even though Donald Trump has positioned himself more clearly in this regard with the announcement of a Bitcoin reserve, both presidential candidates have now emphasized that they will promote the industry. Only time will tell whether Trump or Harris will follow through on this promise.

Donald Trump also went a step too far for many Bitcoin enthusiasts by launching his own crypto project, including tokens, with his sons.

A few weeks ago, analysts Bernstein predicted that the price of Bitcoin would reach new highs if Trump won. If Harris wins, the renowned Wall Street firm expects a stronger correction.

We expect the delta between the two political outcomes to be wide. We expect bitcoin to claim back new highs, in case of a Trump win and by Q4, we expect bitcoin to reach close to $80,000-$90,000 range. However, if Harris wins, we expect bitcoin to break the current floor around $50,000 and test the $30,000-$40,000 range, which it was when the bitcoin ETF momentum started in Q4′2023.
_{Gautam Chhugani, Bernstein}

The rationale behind the assessment is that a crypto-friendly election outcome and a more positive regulatory environment are not priced in. It remains to be seen what role Bitcoin and co. will play in the US election campaign and how the outcome of the election will affect the asset. At the moment, Kamala Harris is ahead according to the betting markets.