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Policy

Harris Loses 'Support' Rating from Crypto Advocacy as Grade Changes to 'NA' From 'B'

The change comes as Crypto Twitter points out that Harris doesn't have a crypto policy in her platform.

Updated Sep 25, 2024, 3:18 p.m. Published Sep 25, 2024, 4:10 a.m.
Kamala Harris (YouTube)
Kamala Harris (YouTube)
  • Stand With Crypto, a bipartisan advocacy group, has moved Democratic nominee Kamala Harris' rating to 'NA' from B.
  • The democrats do not have a comprehensive crypto policy, unlike the Republican campaign.

Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Kamala Harris is now ranked "N/A" by the political action committee Stand With Crypto, in a withdrawal of her previous rating of "B."

(Stand With Crypto)
(Stand With Crypto)

Harris' prior rating of B was based on a quote from a recent speech she gave to donors, in which she said she would "invest in America's future" and encourage "innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors."

However, aside from that, her campaign has not articulated a crypto policy.

Stand With Crypto labeled Harris's two-word mention of "digital assets" as "somewhat pro-crypto," and her general B rating came with the general descriptor of "somewhat supportive."

So in that sense, the removal of the B rating could be seen as a downgrade of the organization's rating of the candidate, since its mission is to encourage politicians to explicitly espouse policies supportive of crypto.

In contrast, the Republican campaign has laid out detailed crypto policies, which says it will "end Democrats' unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency." Also, it promises to "defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their Digital Assets."

(Stand With Crypto)
(Stand With Crypto)

CoinDesk recently reported, citing campaign sources, that Harris' campaign isn't likely to include a deep dive into her crypto views.

Sources that spoke to CoinDesk said her campaign is keeping digital assets policy broad and high-level, with crypto as one of several economic innovations she plans to highlight.

The campaign is maintaining high-level discussions with crypto insiders, including executives from Ripple Labs and Coinbase.

Speaking earlier with CoinDesk, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Grewal expressed optimism about the Harris campaign's growing understanding of crypto industry needs, noting progress in both her and Republican candidate Donald Trump's positions.

"All we want are sensible rules, and we'll follow them," he told CoinDesk.

Grewal told CoinDesk that he hoped crypto would remain a non-partisan issue, with Circle's Jeremy Allaire later echoing the sentiment during an interview with CNBC, calling it a "purple" issue.

Bettors on PolyMarket are giving Harris an edge, assigning her a 50-48% chance over Republican candidate Trump.

Sam Reynolds

Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Taipei. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX's collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC.

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