By Jason Brett, Unchained
Compiled by: Felix, PANews
On July 21, local time, U.S. President Biden "unexpectedly" announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, resigned as the Democratic presidential candidate, and supported Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. The crypto industry is now forced to consider the impact she and other potential candidates may have on the industry.
While Harris is now the favorite to win the Democratic nomination, the matter is still undecided, especially as some Democrats worry that Harris will have a hard time defeating Trump in the presidential election.
The Democratic nominee will be decided at the party convention in Chicago, which will be held from August 19 to 22. Here’s what the most likely candidates have to say about cryptocurrencies.
Vice President Kamala Harris
Harris has never spoken out in Congress on any significant matters regarding cryptocurrency policy, and as vice president, she has remained largely silent on the technology. Given her time as a senator and state attorney general in California, some view her as a "friend" of Silicon Valley and potentially good for the crypto industry. However, if she is elected president and decides to follow through on the Biden administration's caution toward cryptocurrencies and the SEC's hostile stance toward Crypto, the current situation may not change much.
Related Reading: What Is Biden's Vice President Kamala Harris' Stance on Cryptocurrency?
California Governor Gavin Newsom
Newsom has been a key surrogate for the Biden campaign, but many believe he has been running a shadow presidential campaign for some time. With regard to Crypto, Newsom has already taken some concrete actions. In May 2022, Newsom signed an executive order to establish a licensing framework for crypto businesses in California. While he initially vetoed a bill in September 2022 that would have established such a framework, he did sign the Digital Financial Assets Law in October 2023, which some believe enables California to compete with New York on the BitLicense regulatory regime.
Among the potential candidates, Newsom may have a deep understanding of the crypto industry, which means he may make the wisest policy decisions and at least be willing to work with the crypto industry on state policy and education. However, several other governors are considered more likely to gain support from Democratic donors and ultimately defeat Trump.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Whitmer is seen as a potential candidate because she would help win a key battleground state. Whitmer has not discussed cryptocurrencies or changed Michigan crypto policy in any significant way. This suggests that she may be more responsive to crypto policy issues if she becomes president, or simply has no interest in Crypto from a policy perspective. While other states such as California have implemented regulatory frameworks for the crypto industry, there is no indication that Whitmer will do much in terms of crypto.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker
Pritzker is reportedly worth $3.5 billion, which he can use to finance his own campaign. If any potential candidate could be called “crypto bullish,” it would probably be Pritzker — at least until the FTX debacle in 2022, when his office went crypto silent. But in a 2021 Facebook post, Pritzker welcomed crypto ATM company Coinlip to expand its industry and personnel in Chicago, writing, “The future of crypto is in Illinois.”
Additionally, Illinois under Pritzker has been an early adopter of Crypto. Moreover, it is not surprising that his office stopped promoting the Crypto industry after the FTX scandal broke, as many legislative bodies, including Congress, quickly gave up on advancing Crypto policy. However, if the crypto industry wants to see one person become the Democratic presidential candidate, or the vice presidential candidate under Harris, Pritzker may be the best choice.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
Like Whitmer, Shapiro is considered a possible presidential candidate because he is the governor of a key state. During his tenure, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities decided to include "cryptocurrency" in the definition of "currency" in the state's money transmission law, a reversal of the 2019 policy before Shapiro became Pennsylvania governor. While Shapiro hasn't done anything major in crypto, he hasn't said anything negative about the industry, even after crypto mining companies took advantage of tax incentives designed to help build data centers. As a result, he may be willing to look into establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies at the state level.
Potential U.S. Senator or Cabinet Official
While the governor’s chances of winning the presidential nomination are slim, there are two U.S. senators and a Cabinet official whose stances on crypto are worth watching.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Booker is a co-sponsor of the Digital Commodity Consumer Protection Act of 2022, which would authorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate digital assets as commodities. In addition, he voted in favor of overturning the SEC's SAB 121 resolution, which currently requires crypto exchanges and custodians to record customers' crypto assets as liabilities on their balance sheets. Ultimately, President Biden vetoed the resolution. According to Open Secrets, Booker received $17,500 in donations from the crypto industry in 2024.
Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona)
Like Booker, Kelly was one of 12 Democratic senators who voted to overturn SAB 121. In the Open Secrets investigation, Kelly received $3,323 in campaign contributions from the crypto industry in 2024.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
So far, Buttigieg has not weighed in on the issue of encryption and has not issued any comments or taken any position as transportation secretary.
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