From Silence to Support: Kamala Harris Advocates for Blockchain in Latest Speech

Speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on Sept. 25, the Democrat presidential candidate said that, if elected, she will “recommit” to technologies such as distributed ledger.

“I will recommit the nation to global leadership in the sectors that will define the next century […] remain dominant in AI and quantum computing, blockchain, and other emerging technologies.”

Her comments are the latest in an apparent U-turn from the current administration, which has been hellbent on destroying the crypto industry in the US over the past three years.

The Blockchain and AI President

Moments ago at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, PA, Kamala Harris committed to working to help the US dominate in Blockchain, AI and Quantum computing.

Specifically she said, “I will recommit the nation to global leadership in the sectors that… pic.twitter.com/CVTuo0yaYY

— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) September 25, 2024

Kamala for Crypto?

Until recently, Harris has been silent on digital assets. At a New York fundraising event on Sept. 22 she broke that silence by stating that she wanted to “invest in America’s competitiveness,” mentioning crypto for the first time in her campaign:

“We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors.”

However, there was only one brief mention of digital assets in her 80-page economic plan and no mentions of blockchains.

Venture capitalist Adam Cochran labeled it as “progress” adding that “She is very much interested in US financial dominance and US tech supremacy.” He added that she doesn’t stand to gain much from the crypto crowd by endorsing it anymore at this stage.

“What % of crypto voters would switch to her, that aren’t already going to vote for her, if she endorsed crypto more strongly? Almost zero.”

Skeptics were not convinced with some suggesting that if she got elected, she could reverse this course claiming that AI and crypto were bad for the environment and continue to crack down on them as the Biden administration has done.

The Stand With Crypto Alliance, a political action committee launched by Coinbase in 2023, ranks US politicians on their stance on crypto. It claims to have “not enough information” on Kamala Harris, ranks Joe Biden as “somewhat against” crypto and Donald Trump, who recently bought burgers with Bitcoin, as “strongly supportive.”

However, appears that crypto voters may already be in their camp and are unlikely to switch sides no matter what Kamala Harris comes out with next.

A Tight Race

According to FiveThirtyEight, Harris has a slim 48.4% lead in the national polls over rival Donald Trump at 45.8%.

The Polymarket prediction platform has an even slimmer gap, with Harris at 50% to Trump’s 49%, but predicts that the former President has taken the lead in the swing state of Pennsylvania.