On August 2, Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, rose to a record high of 45% on the prediction market Polymarket, before falling back to 44%. Trump's chances of winning fell to 54%, compared with 71% on July 16, a few days before Biden dropped out of the race.
Two days ago, more than 200 venture capitalists signed a letter publicly supporting Kamala Harris for the White House, saying that without "strong, trusted institutions," Silicon Valley and other industries will collapse.
Next Monday local time, representatives from Harris' campaign are expected to further engage with executives in the crypto industry at a roundtable meeting, and it is expected that her stance may soften following her rival Trump's speech at the Bitcoin conference.
More than 200 venture capitalists back Harris
Venture capitalists who signed the “VCs for Kamala” pledge include the following crypto industry figures:
Ron Conway: Managing partner and founder of SV Angel. The fund is an investor in at least 10 crypto companies, including Coinbase, Uniswap and OpenSea;
Ryan Morrison: Partner at Founders Circle Capital, which has invested in Robinhood, a retail investment app that provides crypto services, and FalconX, a digital asset brokerage firm;
Rebecca Kaden: USV’s first female managing partner. USV has 24 crypto companies in its portfolio, including Coinbase, Blackbird Labs, Dapper Labs, and Polychain Capital. Kaden donated $4,000 to Democratic candidates and committees last year;
Mark Cuban: Investor in 20 blockchain companies, including Arbitrum, Polygon and DeepSea. Cuban is a staunch critic of Trump.
Reid Hoffman: Co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock, who has invested in six crypto companies including Coinbase. On July 31, he called his support for Harris “an investment in the future of our democracy.”
In addition, J.P. Thieriot, former CEO of the U.S. crypto exchange Uphold, also expressed support for Harris. Thieriot said he hopes to build support from the digital currency industry for the Democratic Party. He believes that former President Trump made empty promises to the industry, while Harris sent a new signal of openness.
“Of course, she has to do something to be trusted,” Thieriot said. “It would be crazy if (we) weren’t involved.”
He said he wrote a strategy document with other groups, including cryptocurrency lawyers, which they shared with Harris' campaign this week and are awaiting a response. The strategy document states: "We believe that cryptocurrency is the most important interstate swing issue of this election cycle... Trump has made moves to try to capture this space and raised a lot of money, essentially offering vague platitudes without any meaningful policy commitments."
The document suggests holding a cryptocurrency fundraiser in San Francisco and predicts that Harris could receive endorsements from prominent cryptocurrency figures and potentially receive tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the industry. Thieriot said he is setting up a website for the event.
Harris reportedly "reached out to crypto industry insiders," campaign to participate in new roundtable
On July 27, it was reported that members of Harris' team had contacted people close to cryptocurrency companies in recent days to discuss meetings. These companies include leading exchange Coinbase, stablecoin company Circle, and blockchain payment group Ripple Labs. But then, advisers to Harris' campaign team clarified that the move to reconnect with the cryptocurrency industry is not primarily for the purpose of obtaining election donations, but to establish a positive relationship with the crypto industry and pave the way for a reasonable regulatory framework.
According to FOX reporter Eleanor Terrett, California Congressman Ro Khanna will host a key roundtable in Washington next Monday, which will bring together cryptocurrency industry leaders and politicians.
The cryptocurrency roundtable will be attended by Democratic politicians. In addition, representatives from the Harris campaign will also be present. This move represents a move by pro-cryptocurrency Democrats to establish a new relationship with the crypto industry, marking a major shift in policy.
Back in July, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna organized a roundtable discussion on cryptocurrency regulation. He invited well-known figures such as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and entrepreneur Mark Cuban. Khanna expressed optimism about the potential outcomes of these discussions.
He said the meeting would lay the foundation for the introduction of a strong regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the U.S. Although few specific details of the meeting were revealed, Garlinghouse praised Khanna on social media. The Ripple CEO called Khanna an "outstanding" leader and praised him for spending time interacting with the cryptocurrency industry.
Harris's attempt to change her stance on cryptocurrencies has not been without resistance. Recently, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) expressed strong skepticism of Harris's new strategy. He said: "After witnessing the great success of President Trump's Bitcoin conference in Nashville, it is not surprising that Harris, as she has on many other issues, was eager to make a last-minute 180-degree turn and try to appear pro-cryptocurrency."
Additionally, Senator Hagerty criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s previous policies toward the cryptocurrency space, calling them “extremely anti-cryptocurrency and anti-innovation.” Hagerty also pointed out the contradictions between Harris’ new stance and the administration’s past actions.
“Unfortunately, her approach now is hampered by three and a half years of extremely anti-cryptocurrency and anti-innovation policies from the Biden-Harris administration,” he commented.
According to Hagerty, he believes that the cryptocurrency community shares the Republican values of freedom and innovation and is therefore unlikely to be swayed by Harris's shift in stance. He cited the positive response Trump received at the recent Bitcoin Nashville 2024 conference as evidence that the Republican Party is more influential among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. "The Republican Party is the party of cryptocurrency, and Kamala's last-ditch effort will not change that," Hagerty concluded.
At present, whether Harris will publicly state her stance on cryptocurrency will be a key factor in the subsequent US election trends.
