Harris breaks silence: pledges to support cryptocurrency investment

U.S. Vice President Harris vowed to support increased investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency industries if elected. She pitched her economic agenda to donors in New York City on Sunday, saying it would promote innovation and focus regulation on protecting consumers and investors.

"I will bring together workers, small business founders, innovators and large corporations. We will work together to invest in American competitiveness and invest in America's future," Harris said at a fundraiser at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan. "We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors."

Harris' comments mark the first time the Democratic presidential candidate has commented on cryptocurrencies, and investors and avid fans of the industry are waiting to see if her approach will differ from Biden's.

Coinbase policy director Faryar Shirzad said in a Sept. 22 X post that this is an important and constructive statement from Harris, which is far less forward-looking than the specific and visionary positions taken by Trump, but is still noteworthy because it shows that Harris recognizes the importance of innovation in digital assets and compares it to artificial intelligence. ”

Alexander Grieve, vice president of government affairs at venture capital firm Paradigm, called Harris’ comments on X “encouraging,” adding that no matter who wins in November, “this (Biden administration) should be the last anti-crypto administration.”

Jake Chervinsky, legal director at crypto venture capital firm Variant, wrote on X: “This is progress, and it’s good progress. But what Harris said ‘while protecting our consumers and investors’ could mean a lot of things. The anti-crypto camp uses ‘consumer protection’ as a smokescreen to cover their attempts to destroy our industry. I personally want to see policy details.”

The cryptocurrency industry has become a major player in the 2024 presidential election after industry executives and investors, angry about the Biden administration’s heavy regulation, hoped to demonstrate their influence in part through large political donations. Advocacy group Public Citizen reported last month that U.S. cryptocurrency companies including Coinbase, Ripple and Gemini have spent nearly $120 million to influence the November election.

In August, during a Bloomberg News roundtable on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention, a campaign policy adviser to Harris revealed that Harris wants to promote the growth of digital assets, but she also said she is interested in safeguards for an industry that has seen many well-known companies go bankrupt.

Harris' opponent, former President Trump, has also publicly courted the industry, promising to fire Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whose term ends in 2026, choose industry-friendly regulators and create a stablecoin framework.

Trump courted the digital asset community again last week, paying for a burger with Bitcoin at a cryptocurrency-themed bar in New York City.

Harris' economic agenda is mainly aimed at voters worried about high prices, which has been a political burden for the Biden administration. She promised to promote a series of tax breaks and tax cuts, as well as projects to reduce the burden on low-income and middle-class American families.

She also said, "We will create a safe business environment and abide by consistent and transparent rules. We will invest in semiconductors, clean energy, and other industries of the future and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy.”