Advisers to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign are reaching out to key figures in the cryptocurrency industry in an effort to forge relationships that could ultimately influence regulatory frameworks, sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
Recently, the outreach effort has reportedly included cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, stablecoin company Circle and blockchain payments company Ripple Labs.
A source told the Financial Times that the message Harris wants to get across is that the Democratic Party is “pro-business, responsible business”.
Her rise to the top of the Democratic presidential field is also seen as an opportunity to rebuild ties with the technology industry, after the Biden administration’s regulatory stance sparked a backlash in the traditionally liberal sector.
The Harris campaign, Coinbase and Circle did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Ripple spokesperson pointed to recent comments made by CEO Brad Garlinghouse on the social media platform X.
On Friday, he urged Harris to distance herself from “people who are spewing utter nonsense,” referring to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a fierce critic of cryptocurrencies.
“Democrats don’t win votes by being anti-crypto (and therefore anti-innovation), but Republicans win votes by embracing and encouraging innovation in the United States,” Garlinghouse said. “It’s time to catch up with many other major economies and governments that have clear rules.”
Wednesday’s post also warned against jumping to conclusions about candidates based solely on party affiliation, adding that Harris’ familiarity with Silicon Valley means she has a chance to bring about a reset on issues like cryptocurrency regulation.
“I’m going to be unbiased for now, but I also agree that if she uses Elizabeth Warren-like rhetoric, she’s miscalculating Gary Gensler’s political liability,” he wrote.
Indeed, SEC Chairman Gensler has drawn particular ire from Democratic allies such as billionaire Mark Cuban, who recently called on President Biden to fire him as chairman.
But Cuban, a well-known cryptocurrency enthusiast, told Decrypto that advisers to the Harris campaign have also reached out to him recently.
“I’ve received multiple questions from her campaign about cryptocurrency,” he said Tuesday, “so I take that as a good sign.”
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has reversed his earlier skeptical stance and grown closer to the cryptocurrency industry since speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on Saturday.
The presidential election has opened up a wide rift in Silicon Valley, with venture capital partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, as well as the Winklevoss twins, endorsing Trump, while other prominent tech figures, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg and SV Angel’s Ron Conway, have publicly endorsed Harris.
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