With Joe Biden not seeking re-election, Kamala Harris’ unclear stance on crypto sparks debate about the future of digital currencies in the U.S.
Kamala Harris’ Stance on Digital Currencies Remains a Mystery
Virtually no one on Capitol Hill has ever heard Vice President Kamala Harris argue passionately for or against NFTs, blockchain, digital currencies, or tokenization.
In the four years that US President Joseph Biden has been in office, none of that has changed since he has spoken a lot about cryptocurrency.
According to Cointelegraph, everything changed, though, when Biden declared his intention to not run for president in the next election. He has already endorsed Harris, even though his vice president has no assurance of receiving the Democratic nominee.
Trump’s Pro-Crypto Shift Could Challenge Harris in 2024
Former US president Donald Trump, who has been outspoken on crypto—against it in the past, for it recently—would still face Harris if she were to receive the nomination.
Trump is expected to appear at the Bitcoin Conference on July 27, so his intentions in the field could be clarified a little more in the next weeks. While we wait, though, we can probably safely infer that he supports Bitcoin.
Crypto Implications for 2024
The next logical question is: what will happen to cryptocurrency if Harris is victorious? Even though we don’t have her official viewpoint, we can still get a good idea of what it would be like.
To begin, there is strong evidence to suggest that she could continue down the current path. Donors and supporters mostly hail from Biden’s camp as she has tied her political wagon to his. Compared to “candidate Harris,” “president Harris” may find it considerably simpler to alter the current situation.
Notably, despite their substantial investment, neither Harris nor her husband have any digital assets, as stated in her White House financial statement for 2023.
Harris’ Tech-Friendly Image
Despite their ties to Silicon Valley, this jumps out since the declaration suggests they have zero interest in digital assets. Despite her relatively cautious attitude on artificial intelligence, Harris—a native Californian—has been seen as one of the more tech-friendly Democratic candidates to emerge in recent years.
It’s plausible that her rejection of Bitcoin is a direct rejection of the technology. As her campaign gets underway, we might anticipate her rallying anti-crypto support if that’s the case.
Then, before Biden withdrew from the 2024 campaign, it’s important to think about the hair-breadth gap in support between Trump and him. The true question is whether Harris would benefit or suffer from coming out pro-crypto against Trump if she were to suddenly find herself in a situation where she needed to find a few percentage points to legitimize her campaign.