As President Biden Drops Out, Where Do Kamala Harris and Other Potential Candidates Stand on Crypto?

With the surprise announcement on Sunday that U.S. President Joseph Biden was stepping down as the Democratic presidential candidate and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his party’s nominee, the crypto sector is now forced to consider the impact she and other potential nominees could have on the industry. For while Harris is now the prohibitive favorite to win the nomination, her position at the top of the ticket is not a done deal, particularly with some Democrats concerned about Harris’ chances of winning a presidential election against Republican candidate Donald Trump.

The Democratic candidate will be decided at the party’s convention in Chicago that runs from Aug. 19-22. Here are the crypto views of the most likely candidates:

Vice President Kamala Harris

Harris has never voted on anything significant regarding crypto policy in Congress and as VP, has been largely silent on the technology. Given her time in California as a senator and the state’s attorney general, some view her as a friend to Silicon Valley that could be favorable toward the crypto industry. However, if she became President and decided to follow-through on the Biden Administration’s wariness of cryptocurrency and the SEC’s antagonistic stance against the industry, it’s likely not much would change.

California Governor Gavin Newsom

Newsom has been a top surrogate for Biden’s campaign, but many think he has been running a shadow campaign for President for some time. Regarding crypto, Newsom has taken some specific actions impacting its regulation in California. In May of 2022, Newsom signed an executive order to create a framework for licensing cryptocurrency companies in California. While he originally vetoed a bill in Sept. 2022 that would have established such a framework, he did sign the Digital Financial Assets Law in Oct. 2023, which some see as enabling California to compete with New York on a BitLicense regulatory regime.

Newsom may have the best knowledge and understanding of the crypto industry among the potential candidates, which means he may be able to make the most informed policy decisions and at least be willing to work with the crypto industry on national policies and education. However, several other state governors are seen to be more likely to garner support for Democratic donors, as well as being able to ultimately defeat Trump.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Whitmer is viewed as a potential candidate since she would help win an important battleground state. Whitmer has not discussed any of her crypto stances, nor has she moved crypto policy in any significant way in Michigan. This is a sign that she might be more reactive to policy questions on crypto were she to become the President, or simply that she does not have an interest in crypto from a policy perspective. While other states such as California have implemented regulatory frameworks for the industry to work with, there is nothing to indicate that Whitmer would do much with respect to crypto.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker

Pritzker is reportedly worth $3.5 billion, making him an appealing choice as someone who could fund his own campaign. If one of the potential candidates could be described as a “cryptocurrency bull,” it is probably Pritzker — at least until FTX collapsed in 2022, at which point his office went quiet on crypto. But in a Facebook post from 2021, Pritzer welcomed CoinFlip, a crypto ATM company, to expand its roots and personnel in Chicago, writing that “the future of cryptocurrency is in Illinois.”

In addition, Illinois under Pritzker has been an early adopter of crypto. Moreover, that his office stopped promoting the industry after the FTX scandal was not that unusual, as many legislative bodies including Congress quickly backed off on advancing crypto policy until more was known about what happened with FTX. However, if the crypto industry wanted to see one person be either the Democrats’ Presidential candidate, or a Vice Presidential pick under Harris, Pritzker would likely be the best choice.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro

Like Whitmer, Shapiro is considered a possible Presidential candidate because he is governor of a key battleground state. During his tenure, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities decided to include “cryptocurrency” in its definition of “money” for the purposes of the state’s money transmission law, which was a reversal from a 2019 policy, before Shapiro became Pennsylvania’s governor. While Shapiro has not done anything significant regarding crypto, he also hasn’t said anything negative about the industry, even after state tax breaks that were supposed to help with the creation of data centers were utilized by crypto mining companies. Therefore he may be willing to look at a regulatory framework that could be established for crypto at the national level.

Potential U.S. Senators or Cabinet Officials

While not as likely as a state governor to win the Presidential nomination, there are two U.S. Senators and one cabinet official worth briefly reviewing for their stances on crypto.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)

Booker co-sponsored the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022, a piece of legislation that would have empowered the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to regulate digital assets as commodities. In addition, he also voted for a resolution to overturn the SEC’s SAB 121, which currently requires crypto exchanges and custodians to record customers’ crypto assets as liabilities on their balance sheets, a measure that the crypto industry strongly opposed. Ultimately, President Biden vetoed the resolution. According to Open Secrets, Booker has been the recipient of $17,500 in donations from the crypto industry in 2024.

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)

Along with Booker, Kelly was one of twelve Democratic Senators to vote to overturn SAB 121. In the same Open Secrets poll, it was revealed that Kelly has received $3,323 in campaign donations from the crypto industry in 2024 so far.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Up to this point, Buttigieg has not had to weigh in on crypto issues as Secretary of Transportation, nor has he offered any comments or stances that would indicate how he stands on crypto, either.