Trump’s crypto plans sound good on paper — however what’s the catch? May Harris’ understated strategy maintain the important thing to a safer, smarter crypto future?
Because the 2024 U.S. presidential race enters its closing phases, each Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are ramping up efforts to woo a rising however typically missed group of voters — crypto voters.
Trump, along with his newly launched World Liberty Monetary (WLF) token and plans for a “Bitcoin (BTC) and Crypto Advisory Council,” has positioned himself as a vocal supporter of crypto and decentralized finance.
However, Vice President Harris has quietly begun outlining insurance policies geared toward defending crypto traders, notably in Black communities, via her Alternative Agenda.
Let’s dive deeper into what Trump and Harris are providing to the crypto group, how their insurance policies stack up, and what it means for voters who’re hoping to see clearer rules—and possibly slightly extra digital coin of their pockets.
Trump’s crypto courtship
Donald Trump has reworked his stance on crypto in a approach that speaks on to a key group of voters, a calculated transfer to faucet into the rising affect of the crypto group in America.
It began in Might when Trump’s marketing campaign started accepting crypto donations, a notable change from his earlier skeptical views. This was adopted by a number of strategic strikes geared toward convincing the crypto group that he’s their candidate.
By June, Trump publicly threw his assist behind Bitcoin miners, expressing his hope that the remaining Bitcoin could be mined “proper right here in America” – a key message for these involved in regards to the exodus of mining operations to international locations like Russia and Kazakhstan.
However Trump didn’t cease there. His look on the Bitcoin Convention in Nashville on the finish of July marked a vital second in his crypto marketing campaign.
Standing earlier than a packed room of crypto advocates, Trump not solely promised to determine a nationwide Bitcoin reserve if elected—an unprecedented transfer—however he additionally vowed to fireside SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
This promise, met with a standing ovation, struck a chord with crypto voters, lots of whom see Gensler as an impediment to the business’s development as a consequence of his agency stance on regulating digital belongings like shares and bonds.
The creation of a nationwide Bitcoin reserve, paired along with his pledge to kind a Bitcoin and Crypto Advisory Council, set him aside from his opponents, particularly in a political enviornment the place different candidates have remained cautious on crypto.
Past coverage guarantees, Trump has additionally made extremely seen gestures to indicate his assist for crypto. Throughout a marketing campaign cease at Pubkey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in New York, Trump grew to become the primary former U.S. president to make use of cryptocurrency in a transaction, shopping for a dozen burgers utilizing Bitcoin.
On the middle of Trump’s crypto efforts lies his private mission, WLF, a DeFi platform launched in September 2024. Marketed as a crypto financial institution the place customers can borrow, lend, and make investments, WLF is clearly designed to lure crypto voters by providing them one thing tangible.
The platform’s native token, WLFI, was launched with a lot fanfare, aiming to boost $300 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion. But, the mission has struggled to fulfill its formidable objectives, with solely $12.9 million raised thus far.
Extra controversial is the token allocation—Trump and his household are poised to obtain 75% of the web protocol income, elevating questions on transparency and the way a lot of the mission is for the advantage of its customers versus the Trump household.
WLF claims to be apolitical, but the timing and Trump’s heavy involvement make it clear that that is as a lot a political play as it’s a monetary one. The mission’s roadmap contains daring guarantees, however its sluggish progress and the outsized monetary advantages for the Trump household have sparked skepticism.
Nonetheless, Trump’s supporters view the mission as a part of his broader narrative of monetary independence and American financial power, tied neatly to his political messaging.
Harris’s cautious strategy to crypto
Whereas Trump has taken an aggressive and hands-on strategy to wooing the crypto group, Kamala Harris has chosen a extra measured path.
Harris, the present Vice President, has not made crypto a centerpiece of her marketing campaign, however current strikes recommend she is conscious of the rising significance of digital belongings and their influence on voters.
The primary actual indicators of Harris’ strategy got here throughout a roundtable occasion on the Democratic Nationwide Conference in Chicago, the place her senior marketing campaign adviser, Brian Nelson, shed some mild on her potential insurance policies.
Nelson made it clear that Harris intends to assist insurance policies that enable rising applied sciences like crypto to develop whereas making certain they’re adequately regulated. Although the message was obscure, it marked the primary public stance from Harris’ camp on the matter.
This cautious dance grew to become extra obvious when Harris not too long ago launched her “Alternative Agenda”, a broader financial plan geared toward bettering monetary inclusion.
One key facet of this agenda is the safety of crypto traders, notably Black Individuals, a demographic the place over 20% personal or have owned digital belongings.
Harris has promised to construct a regulatory framework to make sure that the advantages of crypto may be loved safely with out the dangers of fraud, volatility, or market manipulation.
Nonetheless, whereas Harris has began laying out her views on paper, her direct engagement with the crypto group has been rocky at greatest.
A digital city corridor hosted by the ‘Crypto For Harris’ marketing campaign was speculated to be a second to rally assist from the digital asset area, however the occasion fell flat.
Missing interplay and with Harris herself notably absent, the city corridor left distinguished figures like Tyler Winklevoss and Jake Brukhman annoyed.
Winklevoss went so far as to name it a “clown present,” whereas Brukhman criticized the format for failing to seize the essence of a city corridor—engagement and dialogue.
The occasion, as a substitute, relied on pre-recorded speeches from political allies like Senators Gillibrand and Schiff, making it really feel extra like a lecture than a dialog.
Regardless of the misstep, Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer, a significant Democratic determine, did his greatest to fill the hole, rising as a shock ally for crypto. Schumer promised that crypto is “right here to remain it doesn’t matter what” and pledged to push for wise regulation earlier than the tip of the yr.
Curiously, Harris’ marketing campaign has additionally acquired quiet assist from notable crypto figures. Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple (XRP), has donated over $1 million in XRP to Harris’ marketing campaign, expressing confidence that she would carry a “extra pragmatic strategy and clear guidelines” to the crypto business — one thing he believes is lacking beneath the present administration led by SEC Chairman Gensler.
Whereas Harris hasn’t gone so far as Trump in embracing crypto, she’s additionally made delicate strikes to distance herself from the extra anti-crypto voices inside the Democratic Occasion, reminiscent of Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Her cautious strategy may not generate standing ovations like Trump’s guarantees to fireside Gensler or create a Bitcoin reserve, however it provides a path for crypto that leans towards stability and investor safety — interesting to voters who search progress with out the chaos.
What are the chances?
Because the 2024 presidential race intensifies, the chances of every candidate successful have shifted dramatically prior to now few days, and the crypto market’s bullish sentiment could be enjoying a job.
In accordance with a well-liked betting contest on Polymarket, which has attracted over $2.06 billion in bets, Trump at present holds a 60.1% probability of victory, in comparison with Harris’ 39.8%.
It is a stark distinction to only a few weeks in the past when the 2 have been neck and neck at practically 50% every. In actual fact, in mid-September, Harris was main with a 52% edge over Trump’s 46%.
So much has modified prior to now few days, notably within the crypto market. The newfound bullishness in digital belongings, notably Bitcoin, appears to be influencing voter sentiment.
As of Oct. 18, Bitcoin is buying and selling simply shy of $70,000, hovering round $68,700, its highest ranges in months, reflecting the rising influence of the crypto market on political outcomes.
As we head nearer to Election Day, the tides may shift once more, relying on the efficiency of the crypto market and any last-minute developments from each campaigns. The approaching days can be important in defining each the race and the way forward for crypto coverage within the U.S.
