Harris calls for crypto regs as industry PACs dominate election spending
Reaching a coin-sensus… VP Kamala Harris’ campaign on Monday announced support for a “regulatory framework” for crypto and digital assets designed to protect investors. The crypto push is part of Harris’ “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” which includes legalizing pot at the federal level and providing forgivable loans for entrepreneurs. FYI: the Harris campaign said more than 20% of Black Americans own or have owned crypto.
Joining the party: Harris hadn’t spoken much about crypto on the trail, and her proposal turned industry heads. Bitcoin and ether both climbed more than 5% on Monday.
Promising the moon: Former President Donald Trump has promised industry-friendly regs and spoken of creating a bitcoin “stockpile.” In 2021 he called bitcoin a “scam.”
Final sprint… The crypto industry’s been spending big ahead of next month’s elections. According to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan org that tracks election spending, Coinbase and the cofounder of XRP each recently gave $1M to a PAC supporting Harris. Super PACs supporting Trump have received millions from crypto-industry bigwigs, including Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Meantime, downballot spending by pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake, whose largest donors are Coinbase and Ripple, has passed $36M. The pro-crypto super PACs Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress have spent a combined $90M+ on federal elections.
Money talks… The crypto industry accounted for nearly half of corporate election spending this cycle. The flood of cash has pushed the topic of crypto regulation to the forefront during the campaigns’ final few weeks as both candidates make more nods to the industry.