Harris turns pro-crypto as Trump claims to be Bitcoin's guardian angel
As U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pushes for pro-cryptocurrency policies, such as attending Bitcoin 2024 and vowing to make the U.S. the Bitcoin capital of the world, Democratic presidential candidate Carmela Harris' campaign has been reaching out to cryptocurrency companies, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Nov. 28 (local time).
Harris' campaign has recently reached out to executives at Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, and Circle, a stablecoin (cryptocurrency that does not fluctuate in price) company. This is likely due to Trump's strong support from crypto companies. Trump, who was once a crypto skeptic, attended the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on April 27, where he said he would make the U.S. the Bitcoin Capital of the World, including making Bitcoin a Federal Reserve asset. This comes as crypto-related companies have been making large political donations to Trump. Trump has reportedly received nearly $200 million in donations from crypto companies such as Coinbase and Ripple. The crypto industry supports the pro-business Republican Party. Democrats are viewed by the industry as anti-business.
"We're reaching out to crypto companies not to get political contributions from them, but to change the perception that Democrats are anti-business," a Harris campaign official said. "They're using it as an opportunity to reset their relationship with the tech industry, which has felt targeted by the Biden administration on antitrust issues," he added. "Harris' underlying message is that the Democratic Party is pro-business," he emphasized.
Harris aims to lure back talent from the tech community in his home state of California with a pro-cryptocurrency stance. "Biden didn't listen to us, and Harris doesn't," said one crypto company representative, expressing some excitement, according to the FT.
