Kamala Harris Makes Her First Comments on Crypto, and the Reaction Is Mixed

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said that her administration would “encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets, while protecting our consumers and investors,” at a closed-door donor event in Manhattan Sunday, her first comments about the crypto industry since the start of her campaign. Bloomberg first reported the comments.

Bitcoin’s price jumped about 2.3% to $63,879 off the news, according to data from CoinGecko. The price fluctuated throughout the rest of the evening, reaching a high of $64,726 just before midnight ET. Bitcoin is currently trading at $63,634.

In response to the remarks, some industry leaders were excited to see Harris, who’s said almost nothing about her plans for the sector, say anything at all. Others, however, were quick to compare Harris’ vague comments to Trump’s full-throated, albeit scattered, support for the industry. Indeed, at an event over the weekend promoting his NFTs, Trump garnered attention for saying that perhaps cryptocurrency could be used to pay off the U.S.’s $35 trillion debt, a possibility he has mentioned before.

Polymarket’s latest numbers show bettors giving a slight edge to Harris winning the election over Trump, 51% to 48%.

Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams quickly re-posted news of Harris’ comments on X, commenting that “Progress is progress, it needs to start somewhere, and should be encouraged. A positive statement on the tech is more than we got under [the] Biden and Trump presidency.”

Uniswap received a Wells notice from the SEC in April, indicating a potential lawsuit from the agency.

On the other hand, Galaxy Research head Alex Thorne noted that Harris’ comments on Sunday were not that much different from the cautiously supportive remarks the Biden/Harris administration has made about crypto in the past. “I don’t see any material difference from harris (or her advisor brian nelson a few weeks ago) that offers cause for celebration,” Thorne wrote.

Cryptocurrency investor Alexander Fisher pointed out that the regulators Trump appointed during his administration, such as former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, known as “Crypto Dad” and “Crypto Mom,” respectively, in the industry, have been notably more sympathetic than those the Biden administration has appointed. “Trump presidency gave us regulators that actually have an open mind to thoughtful regulation of crypto,” Fisher wrote. “With Biden-Harris regime, especially after midterms, we’ve got SEC, Treasury, FDIC, IRS all trying to kill crypto.”

Harris’ donor event on Sunday raised more money than any other single event during her campaign, drawing in more than $27 million, a campaign aide told the AP. Harris has consistently led Trump in campaign donations, raising quadruple the amount the former president raised in August, despite cryptocurrency mega donors overwhelmingly supporting the former president. As of mid-August, cryptocurrency corporations had donated more to influencing U.S. federal elections than any other industry group, according to a report from Public Citizen.

Variant Fund Chief Legal Officer Jake Chervinsky said on X that while Harris’ comments were “positive,” he wants “to see policy details.” Chervinksy may get his wish soon; Reuters reported on Sunday that the Harris campaign will release more economic policy proposals in a speech this week.