Seemingly Pro-Crypto Harris Policy Doc Attracts Industry Pushback

Kamala Harris, the U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate, is attracting pushback over a policy document targeting black men that pledged to introduce permissive digital asset regulations.

On Oct. 14, the Harris-Walz campaign published a document outlining policies intended to appeal to the black male community. As part of the Opportunity Agenda for Black Men, the document conspicuously pledged to develop a regulatory apparatus for cryptocurrency.

“[Harris] will make sure owners of and investors in digital assets benefit from a regulatory framework so that Black men and others who participate in this market are protected,” the document said.

The document estimated that more than 20% of Black Americans have owned or currently own cryptocurrency, positioning black men as a significant demographic within web3.

“Vice President Harris appreciates the ways in which new technologies can broaden access to banking and financial services,” the agenda added.

Pushback

However, web3 proponents are frustrated by what they see as a lukewarm effort to court crypto votes.

Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise, a crypto index fund manager, criticized the document for lacking concrete policy provisions.

“These words are a Rorschach test, not a position,” Hougan said. “You can read them as aggressively pro-crypto or anti-crypto.”

Crypto influencer Zion Thomas, also known as Ansem, similarly criticized the Harris campaign for offering little more than “vague bullet points.”

Ansem called on the campaign to reverse the suspected Operation Choke Point 2.0 campaign believed to have systematically targeted financial firms servicing crypto companies, alongside demanding the removal of SEC chair, Gary Gensler.

Cleve Mesidor, the executive director of Blockchain Foundation, criticized Harris for appealing only to the black community with promises of permissive crypto regulations.

“Are you (Kamala Harris) aware that the largest segment of crypto is Latino, AAPI, Indigenous, & Black? Mesidor tweeted. ”Diverse female & male leaders have fueled the $2 trillion market.”

On Oct. 1, Mesidor, who also founded the National Policy Network of Women of Color in Blockchain, requested a meeting with the Harris campaign to discuss policy alongside Olayinka Odeniran, the founder of the Black Women Blockchain Council, among several other signatories.

“The Harris-Walz policy team opted not to meet with diverse leaders in crypto, but instead is rolling out a policy that narrowly frames crypto around Black men only,” Mesidor added. “We want a seat at the policy table and a say in the regulatory debate.”

Harris campaign tentatively reaches out to crypto

The policy document isn’t the Harris campaign’s first attempt at appealing to crypto voters.

On Sept.22, Harris vowed to foster innovation in technologies like AI and digital assets, while protecting consumers and investors.

“We will partner together to invest in America’s competitiveness, to invest in America’s future,” Harris said. “We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors.”

The comment follows Donald Trump, who once called Bitcoin a “scam” in 2021, actively courting the crypto vote in recent months with pledges to position the U.S. at the forefront of the global Bitcoin mining industry.

Trump’s chances of winning the 2024 U.S. election have risen significantly this month based on activity from users of the crypto prediction platform Polymarket.

According to Polymarket’s implied odds, Trump now enjoys a 10 percent lead over Harris at 56.2% to 46.3%. The candidates were roughly tied at the start of the month.

Ripple’s $1M Donation to Pro-Harris PAC

However, Harris has recently attracted significant donations from crypto industry representatives.

New filings show that Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, made a 1.75 million XRP donation ($1 million) to the pro-Harris political action committee (PAC), Future Forward, on Aug. 14. The donation marked the first documented contribution to Harris' campaign in the form of cryptocurrency.

Future Forward has raised $200 million in donations so far.

In September, Mesidor teamed up with several caucuses and crypto industry groups to host a fundraiser seeking to raise $100,000 to support Harris' campaign.