In less than a week, Americans will elect a president for a new term. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are fighting for the White House. What do they think about cryptocurrencies?
Kamala Harris: It’s known that not much is known
Let’s start with Kamala Harris. The current vice president has never spoken strictly about cryptocurrencies. She only talked about blockchain, but also in a broader context.
We will invest in biomanufacturing and aerospace, maintain our leadership in AI and quantum computing, blockchain and other emerging technologies (and) expand our lead in innovation and clean energy production
she said in a September 25 speech at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh.
You can find information on the Internet that she allegedly once talked about bitcoin in a negative context, but there is no evidence for this – so it may be fake news supported by Donald Trump’s staff.
We can partially judge Harris by her actions: during Joe Biden’s administration (i.e. when she was and still is the vice president), BTC and ETH ETFs were created. On the other hand, in recent years the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), headed by Gery Gensler, has been attacking crypto companies, suing them for everything it can. Did Harris herself have anything to do with it? It is unknown.
Donald Trump – our crypto-president?
Much more can be written about what Trump said about cryptocurrencies. However, let me start by reminding you of something that is not talked about today. In the past, he spoke negatively about digital assets: he claimed that they help criminals, and he allegedly ordered one of his colleagues to “deal with bitcoin.”
The breakthrough occurred recently, only during the primaries in the Republican Party, when it turned out that Ron DeSantis had withdrawn from the race for the White House. The governor of Florida tried to fight for the electorate of cryptocurrency fans – it did not help, because in the first stage of the primaries he performed worse than Trump and Nikki Halley, and as a result, he withdrew from the fight for Washington. However, someone in the staff of a Trump Tower resident must have come up with an idea to fight for the votes of crypto voters. Right around this time, the Republican started talking about Bitcoin.
Trump has said a lot about cryptocurrencies so far: he promised to strengthen the mining industry, ban the issuance of CBDC (an idea “stolen” from DeSantis) and also release Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, who is serving a life sentence. Perhaps the most important declaration is the one regarding cryptocurrencies held by the US authorities – bitcoins, which were seized from various criminals. The former president promised that he would block any attempts to sell them.
Trump talked most about cryptocurrencies during the Bitcoin 2024 event. There, he promised to dismiss Gensler.
I will appoint a new SEC chairman who believes America should build the future, not block it
– he said.
Then another demand was made: a ban on the issuance of a digital dollar.
There will never be a CBDC as long as I am president of the United States (…)
— Trump made another promise.
As president, he is also expected to defend Americans’ right to “self-custody”, i.e. to independently, anonymously store cryptocurrencies, and to block the potential sale of over 200,000 BTC held by the American government (he promised this during his Bitcoin 2024 speech).
What’s more, Trump also bought his voters a burger in Greenwich Village in New York. He paid $998.70 and settled the bill using the Strike app using bitcoin.
Who is better for Bitcoin?
So you already know the public statements of both candidates regarding bitcoin. They show that Trump would be a better candidate for the market. But it’s just appearances! More precisely: in my opinion, for cryptocurrencies it does not matter that much who wins the battle for the White House.
The above thesis may seem surprising, so let me explain what I mean. On election day, the first good results for Trump may increase the valuation of bitcoin and leading altcoins. So did the Republican win. Harris’s success may trigger a correction of increases, i.e. declines. However, it is a matter of days, not weeks or months. In the long term, the victory of one or the other side does not matter that much. Macroeconomic and geopolitical processes that will take place in the US after the elections will be more important.
To fully understand what I mean, you need to know that behind the US president is the so-called deep state. It is a system of officials and offices that de facto rules the country – the power of the head of state itself is large, but limited by Congress or more important officials. In addition, the deep state itself is divided into factions. And here we come to the point. The key battle will take place after the elections. If the new president (whoever he is) sides with the cryptocurrency-friendly faction, this market will develop. It cannot be ruled out that Kamala Harris will make just such a move – the fact that this may happen is proven by the fact that she is supported by, among others, Chris Larsen from Ripple.
What foreign policy the White House will pursue will also be important. Today, various factions are fighting for control again. One wants the US to withdraw from the position of a superpower, accepting the fact that bipolarity has re-emerged in the world, with China in the main role. The second one is much more aggressive and is ready to fight for America’s continued primacy. And its success will not necessarily be good for bitcoin, as it may mean the outbreak of war with the Middle Kingdom. How will the cryptocurrency market behave in such extreme conditions? I’m afraid it may bleed heavily.
Summary
As you can see, the whole situation is not as clear as BTC fans on
Obviously, we tend to pay attention to what politicians say during election campaigns. It doesn’t really matter that much – what the new president will actually do will be more important.
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