Author: Alex O’Donnell, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Deng Tong, Golden Finance
U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris is more friendly toward cryptocurrencies than her boss, President Joe Biden, but far less so than rival Donald Trump, Galaxy Research said Oct. 14.
Harris promised to significantly improve the regulatory environment for cryptocurrency companies in the United States, but she took unfavorable positions on other related issues such as taxation, bitcoin mining and self-custody, according to an article published on the X platform by Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy.
“While Trump is undoubtedly more favorable to the industry, we are optimistic that Harris may provide more support than Biden,” Thorne said.
Source: Galaxy Research
How Trump and Harris compare on cryptocurrency policy
The November U.S. presidential election will pit Republican candidate Trump against Democratic candidate Harris. Trump has expressed his hope to make the United States the "cryptocurrency capital of the world", while Harris has been relatively silent on the cryptocurrency industry.
Under Democrat Joe Biden, the SEC has taken an aggressive regulatory stance toward cryptocurrencies, taking more than 100 regulatory actions against companies in the industry.
In July, Trump pledged to “fire” current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Starting in September, Harris doubled down on her commitment to cryptocurrency, listing blockchain technology as one of several emerging technologies in which she wants the United States to "maintain a leading position."
This could mean a softer stance on cryptocurrency regulation. Galaxy said that “behind-the-scenes conversations […] suggest Harris is aiming for a slightly more constructive approach than Biden.”
On October 2, Gurbir Grewal, the head of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, resigned, potentially signaling a shift within the current administration.
Three-quarters of cryptocurrency holders say a candidate’s cryptocurrency policy will influence how they vote. Source: Gemini
According to Galaxy, Harris remains “extremely opposed” to the industry on tax issues. Galaxy said her plan includes “undoing the Trump tax cuts,” which could result in increased capital gains taxes for cryptocurrency holders.
Meanwhile, Trump has voiced support for Bitcoin mining, conflating it with manufacturing, and reportedly wants more Bitcoin to be “made in America.”
Trump also pledged to “protect the right to self-custody,” which means keeping crypto assets in wallets managed by the owner rather than with a third-party custodian, Galaxy said.
Harris does not take a similarly favorable stance on bitcoin mining or self-custody.
Notably, Galaxy said both candidates are tough on imposing financial sanctions on foreign adversaries for crypto transactions.
This could limit both candidates’ support for “permissionless” decentralized finance protocols that violate “know your customer” or anti-money laundering rules.
