Kamala Harris campaign targets cryptocurrency industry

Advisers to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign have reached out to key players in the crypto industry to develop relationships that could eventually inform a regulatory framework, sources told The Daily Beast. The Financial Times.

In recent days, this awareness effort has included the exchange of cryptocurrencies Coinbasestablecoin company Circle and blockchain payments company Ripple Labs, according to the report.

A source told the FT that the message Harris wants to convey is that Democrats are “responsible and pro-business.”

His rise to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket is also seen as an opportunity to reset relations with the tech sector after the Biden administration’s regulatory stance created a backlash in what has traditionally been a more liberal-leaning industry.

The Harris campaign, Coinbase and Circle did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Ripple spokesperson pointed to recent remarks CEO Brad Garlinghouse posted on the social media platform X.

Friday, he urged Harris to distance himself of “people like that who spout total nonsense,” referring to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) who has been a harsh critic of cryptography.

“Democrats aren’t winning votes because they’re anti-crypto (and therefore anti-innovation), while Republicans are winning votes because they’re encouraging innovation here in the United States,” Garlinghouse said. “It’s time to catch up with so many other leading economies and governments that have clear rules of the road.”

And in a posted on wednesdayHe cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the candidates based solely on their party, adding that Harris knows Silicon Valley well and has the opportunity to provide a reset on issues like cryptocurrency regulation.

“I’ll keep an open mind for now, but I also agree that if she’s using the same rhetoric as Elizabeth Warren, then she’s miscalculated the political liability that Gary Gensler represents,” he wrote.

Indeed, SEC Chairman Gensler has drawn particular ire, even from Democratic allies like billionaire Mark Cuban, who recently called on Biden to fire him.

But Cuban, a noted cryptocurrency enthusiast, said Decrypt that Harris campaign advisers have also contacted him recently.

“I get a lot of questions from people around him about cryptocurrencies,” he said Tuesday. “So I take that as a good sign.”

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has made overtures to the crypto sector after reversing his earlier skeptical stance and speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on Saturday.

It was from the presidential election that a major fracture line appeared. divide silicon valleywith venture capital partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowtiz as well as Trump-supporting Winklevoss. On the other side, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, former COO of Meta Sheryl Sandberg and SV Angel’s Ron Conway are among other big tech names who have publicly supported Harris.

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