Biden-endorsed Harris has never held digital assets, will likely keep Biden policies

After President Joe Biden announced that he will not run for the next presidential election, Vice President Harris has emerged as the Democratic candidate. Cointelegraph reported on Nov. 21 (local time) that the vice president has not taken a clear position on cryptocurrency policy while in office. Unlike other politicians in Congress, US Vice President Kamala Harris has never taken a position on digital currencies, tokenization, blockchain, or NFTs. Over the past four years, President Joe Biden has had varying opinions on cryptocurrencies, so Harris's opinion hasn't mattered, but that could change if she becomes the Democratic nominee.

While it's unknown if Harris will win the Democratic nomination, Biden has already endorsed her. Key Democratic figures have also begun to endorse her. If Harris is confirmed as the Democratic nominee, she will face off against former President Donald Trump, who has been anti-crypto in the past but has recently taken a more positive stance. Trump's crypto policy is expected to become clearer during his speech at the Bitcoin Conference on July 27th. For now, we can assume that he will be positive towards Bitcoin.

But what will happen to crypto if Harris wins the presidency? The lack of an official position from Harris doesn't mean we can't speculate on her views. It is likely that Harris will continue with Biden's policies. This is because her political base is connected to Biden. Most of her backers and supporters come from the Biden camp. It will be much easier for "President Harris" to change the status quo than "Candidate Harris". It's worth noting that while Harris and her husband are heavily invested, according to the 2023 White House financial disclosure, they hold no digital assets. This is notable for her lack of interest in digital assets despite her connections to Silicon Valley.

Harris is from California and has been considered one of the more prominent tech-friendly Democrats in recent years. She was the first black woman to serve in the California Senate. Aside from her somewhat cautious stance on artificial intelligence, Harris has been relatively pro-tech. It is possible that Harris' lack of a position on cryptocurrency is a complete rejection of the technology itself. If so, she may try to rally anti-crypto support as her campaign progresses.

Finally, it's worth considering that Biden was neck-and-neck with Trump in the polls before he announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. If you imagine Harris urgently needing to find a few percentage points of support to justify her candidacy, the question of whether crypto support will help or hurt her against Trump will be an important one.