Regulation
Is Kamala Harris Open to Cryptocurrency Regulation?
Since Joe Biden decided to withdraw his candidacy for the US presidential election in November, pointing to Kamala Harris as his possible successor, there has been much speculation about Harris’ stance on cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency regulation.
The problem is that Harris has never made any explicit public statements on the matter, leaving us to speculate.
Mark Cuban’s idea
Yesterday, Mark Cuban expressed his opinion on the matter.
Cuban is both a crypto enthusiast and a Democrat, so he is certainly not an unbiased source. However, in the absence of more specific information, one cannot help but take into consideration even statements from non-unbiased sources, if one is informed of the facts.
Yesterday, the billionaire famous for being the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, gave a meeting to Politico in which he spoke specifically about Kamala Harris.
Cuban says the feedback he’s getting about Harris is that she’ll be much more open to business, artificial intelligenceand cryptocurrencies than it has been so far.
US Vice Presidency: Will Kamala Harris Support Cryptocurrency Regulation?
Currently, Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s vice president.
For the past four years, he has operated in the president’s shadow, never taking any initiative that went against Biden’s policy line.
In other words, she adapted to her role, leaving strategic decisions to her president.
This is why it has also adapted substantially to the policy against cryptocurrency of the Biden administration, although in 2024, from this point of view, something has changed.
In reality, the Biden administration has done little to curb the cryptocurrency market, although this seems to be in line with the attitude of the Democratic Party in Congress, which has effectively blocked the process of regulating cryptocurrencies, which has been stalled for years. In addition, many Democrats have taken initiatives against cryptocurrencies, starting with the New York Attorney General and going all the way to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Harris has never opposed any of this, but she has never clearly expressed her support for the campaign either. She has preferred to stay in the shadows.
Turning
The speculation is that he may not have fully agreed with all of the policy choices made by Biden, his administration, and his party’s senators and representatives in Congress.
He may have simply decided to refrain from commenting on issues he disagreed with in order to maintain good relations with the president.
The same Cuban claims that now she should be in charge, and that this could change his attitude, making him more open towards the company.
It should be noted that technically Kamala Harris is not yet the Democratic Party candidate who will challenge Republican Donald Trump in November, but she seems to be the clear favorite, so much so that no one seems to be seriously considering other hypotheses.
Harris’s Past
One thing that not everyone knows is that Kamala Harris has always been close to the business world, especially Silicon Valley.
She was born in Oakland, California, on the San Francisco Bay Area.
Since 2003, she has served as the district attorney of San Francisco, and in 2010 she became attorney general for all of California.
He has therefore maintained relations for many years with the Californian productive realities, such as those of Silicon Valley, even if it was mainly from a legal point of view.
From a policy perspective, regarding economics, she has mainly focused on consumer protection and fraud, so in theory she may not be very close to the crypto sector, but she is also a strong supporter of privacy.
But what gives some insight into his business stance is that he has in the past solicited numerous donations from Silicon Valley business leaders, who have often responded with generous checks. One of them, LinkedIn co-founder and executive chairman Reid Hoffman, has already announced his support for Harris.
USA: Kamala Harris and the regulation of cryptocurrencies
All of this suggests that Harris’ attitude toward the cryptocurrency industry, and cryptocurrency regulation in particular, may be different from Biden’s.
However, it is necessary to provide a clarification.
Currently, some polls show Harris ahead of Trump in terms of consensus, and therefore in number of possible votes in November.
But despite this, the favorite for the final victory remains Trump.
In fact, the American electoral system does not elect as president the one who gets the most votes, but the one who wins the most delegates in the different states. Trump still seems to be leading in many key states, so, as in 2016, he could win even with fewer votes overall.
Therefore, if Harris were to lose the election in November, all considerations regarding her possible attitude towards cryptocurrency regulation would fall into the void.
It will now be up to her, once she has officially obtained the candidacy, to clearly explain her position on this cryptographic regulation which, during the four years of the Biden administration, during which she was vice president, remained blocked in Congress without making real concrete progress.
Given that the EU now has clear regulations on cryptocurrencies, it seems strange that the US is lagging behind in this regard. After all, it was the Democrats who put a spoke in the wheels of the cryptocurrency regulation process, and it is not certain that things will really change under Harris’ leadership.