Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign advisers have reached out to key players in the crypto industry to develop relationships that could ultimately inform a regulatory framework, according to the sources cited. Financial times.
In recent days, those outreach efforts have included crypto exchange Coinbase, stablecoin company Circle and blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs, the report said.
One source told FT that the message Harris wants to convey is that Democrats are “pro-business, responsible business.”
Her ascension to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket is also seen as an opportunity to reset relations with the tech sector after the Biden administration’s regulatory stance sparked a backlash in the traditionally more liberal-leaning industry.
Harris’ campaign, Coinbase and Circle did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Ripple spokesperson referred to a recent statement posted by CEO Brad Garlinghouse on the social media platform X.
On Friday, he urged Harris to distance herself from “people like this who are spreading nonsense,” referring to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) who has been a vocal critic of crypto.
“The Democrats are not winning any votes for being anti-crypto (and therefore anti-innovation), while the Republicans are winning votes for embracing and encouraging innovation in the US,” Garlinghouse said. “It’s time to catch up with so many other leading economies and governments with clear rules.”
And in his post Wednesday, he warned against jumping to conclusions about candidates based solely on their party, adding that Harris is familiar with Silicon Valley and has the opportunity to make a difference on issues like crypto regulation.
“I’ll keep an open mind for now—but also agree that if he’s using Elizabeth Warren-style rhetoric, then he’s miscalculating Gary Gensler’s political responsibilities,” he wrote.
Indeed, SEC Chairman Gensler has drawn particular ire, even from Democratic allies like billionaire Mark Cuban, who recently called on Biden to fire him.
But Cuban, a prominent crypto enthusiast, said Description that Harris’ campaign advisers had also contacted him recently.
“I’ve gotten a lot of questions from his camp about crypto,” he said Tuesday. “So I take that as a good sign.”
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has made a move towards the crypto sector after reversing his previous skeptical stance and his speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on Saturday.
The presidential election has exposed major fault lines dividing Silicon Valley, with venture capital partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowtiz and the Winklevosses backing Trump. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg and SV Angel’s Ron Conway are among other big tech moguls who have publicly endorsed Harris.
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