Original author: Weilin, PANews
On September 25, local time, U.S. Vice President Harris said in a speech at the Pittsburgh Economic Club that the United States will recommit to global leadership in the technology that will determine the next century, maintaining a leading position in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, blockchain and other emerging technologies. In addition, she mentioned digital assets again in her 80-page economic plan published on her official website.
Three days ago, Harris spoke at a Wall Street fundraiser in New York City, breaking her usual silence and saying she would encourage innovative technologies like artificial intelligence and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors.
The crypto community has mixed reactions to Harriss first mention of digital assets after breaking her silence, with some believing that her position lacks specific details. Despite this, Harris raised $27 million at the New York fundraiser, breaking the individual presidential campaign fundraising record. But polls show that her support among cryptocurrency holders is still significantly behind Trump.
Breaking the silence, Harris mentions digital assets again in 80 pages of economic policy
Harris’ team released the economic plan on its official website after she gave a speech at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on September 25. On page 56 of the 80-page plan, she again mentioned “digital assets” and put it alongside artificial intelligence — a statement consistent with her statement at a fundraiser in New York last weekend (local time on September 22).
Midway through their economic plan, titled “A New Way Forward for the Middle Class: A Plan to Lower Costs and Create an Opportunity Economy,” the Democrats outline how they will “strengthen America’s competitive advantage in areas critical to our economic and national security.”
The two proposed an America Forward strategy in the plan, which aims to start a new era of American industrial development by promoting manufacturing growth and the application of new technologies. The strategy focuses not only on clean iron and steel but also on emerging technologies that they believe are crucial to maintaining the United States global technological competitiveness.
“The strategy includes investment in emerging technologies and the modernization of traditional industries. It will also encourage the development of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital assets, while protecting our consumers and investors,” the plan mentioned.
Harris had been silent on cryptocurrencies on the campaign trail until last weekend. She first spoke about digital assets at a Wall Street fundraiser in Manhattan on September 22, saying: “We will encourage the development of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors. We will create a safe business environment with consistent, transparent rules.”
The crypto community has mixed reactions, is Trump taking the lead?
Looking at the recent crypto actions of Harris opponent, former President Trump, he has publicly announced his support for cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. In July, he attended the Bitcoin Conference, proposed the US Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Plan, and subsequently launched the third series of NFTs. In addition, he also appeared at the Bitcoin Bar to buy burgers and promote his sons DeFi project World Liberty Financial. This series of actions further deepened his influence in the crypto community.
The contrast was stark for some members of the crypto community, which has received mixed feedback on Harris stance. The reality is, we havent heard any details about how (Harris) will provide specific support, said Tim Kravchunovsky, CEO of decentralized telecommunications network Chirp. He noted that Trump has clearly outlined his crypto policies, such as creating a strategic bitcoin reserve, although some analysts believe that this idea is too late. I hope to hear more specific policy information from the Harris campaign, Kravchunovsky added.
Neil Hartner, a senior software engineer at Ripple’s payments division, shared a similar view, arguing that the description of digital assets in the Harris-Waltz economic plan is “too vague.”
On the other hand, some cryptocurrency advocates believe that Harriss stance on emerging technologies has made progress. Analyst Adam Cochran said that although opponents are dissatisfied with Harris silence and ambiguity, the current situation still represents progress.
Polls show crypto voters prefer Trump
According to the national poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University from August 17 to 20, voters overall support Harris 50% and Trump 43%. However, among potential voters who own cryptocurrencies, Trump leads by 12 percentage points (50% to 38%), while Harris leads by 12 percentage points among voters who claim not to own cryptocurrencies (53% to 41%).
In this poll, 15% of respondents said they own or have owned cryptocurrencies, NFTs, or similar digital products. 80% of voters said they have never owned any such assets, and 4% said they knew nothing about them. Among cryptocurrency holders, the proportion of men is significantly higher than that of women (22% vs. 9%), and these men tend to be young voters and belong to racial minorities.
It remains to be seen whether Harris and Waltz will elaborate on their policies on blockchain, digital assets, and especially cryptocurrencies in more detail during the rest of their campaigns. But with less than two months until the election, most crypto voters will want to hear clear and targeted positions.
According to Harris campaign, the fundraiser in New York City on Sunday afternoon raised $27 million for Harris, setting a record for her highest fundraising since she became the Democratic presidential candidate. In terms of fundraising, Trump is far behind Harris. According to the invitation letter, he has recently scheduled several high-dollar fundraisers, including two events in Texas on October 2 and an event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on October 16.
