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Kamala Harris campaign seeks to ‘reset’ cryptocurrency companies
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Kamala Harris’ advisers have reached out to major cryptocurrency companies to “reset” relations between her Democratic party and a sector that has emerged as a major backer of Donald Trump, her rival for the US presidency.
Members of the vice president’s team have reached out to people close to him crypto The companies have discussed the possibility of meeting in recent days, four people familiar with the matter said. They include major exchange Coinbase, stablecoin company Circle and blockchain payments group Ripple Labs, two of the people said.
The office of the vice president and the Harris The campaign declined to comment. Ripple and Coinbase declined to comment. Circle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harris’ openness to cryptocurrency businesses comes as Trump enjoys strong support support levels The former president, once a vocal skeptic of cryptocurrencies, has thrown his support behind the industry and will deliver the keynote address at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville on Saturday.
Crypto groups will likely be a major source of funding for candidates in the election: The pro-crypto super Pac Fairshake has raised more than $200 million from backers including Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz, according to filings.
People advising Harris’ campaign on trade issues said the decision to reengage with the cryptocurrency industry had little to do with attracting new campaign contributions. Rather, they said, the goal was to build a constructive relationship that would ultimately establish a smart regulatory framework that would foster growth for the asset class as a whole.
Outside campaign advisers said Harris wanted to change the perception among many American leaders that Democrats were hostile to business. One said her campaign was using the change in the Democratic ticket’s leadership as an opportunity to rebuild relationships with the tech industry, which had felt targeted by the Biden administration, particularly on antitrust issues.
The underlying message Harris wants to convey is that Democrats are “pro-business, responsible business,” said a person close to her campaign.
Harris wants to win back those in the tech community, many of whom live in her home state of California, who have turned away from the party in protest at the threat of new taxes or regulation of their industry.
This month, venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz announced they would back Trump in the election, after previously backing several Democratic candidates. Their firm, Andreessen Horowitz, claims to be the world’s largest cryptocurrency investor and has raised about $8 billion to invest in the sector.
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When they announced their support for Trump, the two venture capitalists lambasted Joe Biden’s White House and Gary Gensler’s Securities and Exchange Commission. “They’ve fought us every step of the way, and in very nefarious ways,” Horowitz said at the time. “They’re destroying the industry.”
Some crypto companies are hoping Harris will be more understanding of them. “The fact that she’s willing to listen is a big deal. With Biden, you couldn’t even get a meeting… It left people with a very bad impression of the Biden administration,” said one crypto executive.