Striving for the support of Black men backfires, as Harris reiterates her stance on cryptocurrency in the U.S. election but is questioned for lacking
Harris has been criticized by the crypto community for being "insincere," using cryptocurrency merely as a tool to win elections.
Author: Nancy, PANews
The countdown to the U.S. presidential election has begun, and the competition between Trump and Harris has entered a heated phase. Compared to Trump's high-profile actions in the cryptocurrency space, Harris has rarely made clear statements about cryptocurrencies. Recently, during a campaign rally aimed at Black male voters, Harris announced a series of economic security plans, including a commitment to support a cryptocurrency regulatory framework to protect Black men's investments in cryptocurrencies. After the announcement, Harris was criticized by the crypto community for her "lack of sincerity," suggesting that she is merely using cryptocurrencies as a tool to win the election.
New policies to win Black male votes, but the cryptocurrency regulatory framework is questioned
Pennsylvania is a key battleground in this year's U.S. election, and both evenly matched candidates, Trump and Harris, campaigned in this crucial swing state on Monday, targeting key voter demographics.
For Harris, the lack of expected support from Black male voters poses a significant challenge. A recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College showed that about 15% of Black voters plan to vote for Trump in this election. Former President Obama also revealed that Black voters are hesitant about whether to support Harris or Trump, criticizing this group for their unwillingness to let a woman become president.
To secure the votes of Black men, Harris proposed new plans to provide more economic and developmental opportunities, including offering 1 million fully forgivable loans to Black entrepreneurs, providing high-paying job opportunities, and protecting cryptocurrency investments to ensure that Black male investors know their funds are safe. "President Harris knows that over 20% of African Americans own or have owned cryptocurrency assets, which is why her plan will ensure that digital asset owners and investors can benefit from a regulatory framework to protect African American men and other groups participating in this market."
However, Harris's new policy regarding cryptocurrencies has been ridiculed by the crypto community, as the regulatory framework was proposed solely for Black voters and did not provide more regulatory details or a clearer policy stance on cryptocurrencies.
Crypto KOL Ansem believes that Harris's team lacks due diligence on meaningful crypto regulation and has released some vague points, which is embarrassing and frankly shameful. "If Harris is serious, she needs to address the irreversible damage your administration has done to the industry, such as Chokepoint 2.0 and criminal actions against crypto-friendly banks like Silvergate, the repeal of SAB121 veto power, the ongoing lack of meaningful regulation around stablecoins or crypto securities laws, and the failure to take any action to remove Gensler, who is clearly too aggressive and negatively biased against cryptocurrencies in SEC litigation. 'We are not idiots; this won't make any of us vote for you.'"
"It is perplexing that Harris's campaign team chooses not to meet with leaders in the crypto space, instead launching a crypto policy limited to Black men and proposing a regulatory framework that restricts them to consumers rather than producers," wrote FOX reporter Eleanor Terrett.
Galaxy Research analysts believe that Harris is more crypto-friendly than Biden but less so than Trump. Harris has promised to improve the regulatory environment for the U.S. crypto industry but takes a more cautious stance on issues like taxation, Bitcoin mining, and self-custody, while Trump supports Bitcoin mining and promises to protect self-custody rights. Nevertheless, Harris's policies may be more constructive than Biden's.
Harris called to take specific crypto actions, has received public support from crypto figures
The criticism from the crypto community towards Harris is not unfounded; over the past few months, this candidate has not publicly shared much about her views on the crypto market, and insiders have revealed that Harris's campaign team may not elaborate on crypto policies before the election.
Just in September of this year, when Harris first mentioned cryptocurrencies, she expressed caution, stating that the U.S. would "recommit" to maintaining global leadership in defining the next century, particularly in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain, and other emerging technologies. She believes that artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies are part of her vision for an "opportunity economy." Consequently, the bipartisan crypto advocacy organization Stand With Crypto downgraded her rating to "NA" due to the lack of crypto policy in her campaign.
In this regard, Galaxy Research analysts pointed out that Harris is more crypto-friendly than Biden but less so than Trump. Harris has promised to improve the regulatory environment for the U.S. crypto industry but takes a more cautious stance on issues like taxation, Bitcoin mining, and self-custody, while Trump supports Bitcoin mining and promises to protect self-custody rights. Nevertheless, Harris's policies may be more constructive than Biden's. However, Tim Kravchunovsky, founder of the decentralized telecom network Chirp, called for Harris to take some concrete actions if she wants to attract cryptocurrency supporters with her words, hoping to see more specific details of the digital asset policies proposed by Harris, similar to former President Trump's commitments.
Earlier this month, several leaders in the crypto industry sought to meet with Harris and her campaign partner Tim Walz's policy team to discuss proposals for promoting innovation and inclusivity. For example, Cleve Mesido, founder of the National Policy Network WOC Blockchain, Olayinka Odeniran, founder of the Black Women Blockchain Council, and Tonya Evans, a professor at Penn State Dickinson Law School, called for establishing a regulatory framework for Web3 and DeFi to encourage innovation in the U.S.
However, Harris has also received support from several well-known crypto figures. Recently, Ripple founder Chris Larsen made the first recorded cryptocurrency donation of $1 million in XRP to Future Forward USA, one of the major super PACs supporting Harris; a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz announced he would donate "a significant amount of money" to Harris's presidential campaign, no longer supporting Trump.
In this fiercely competitive U.S. presidential election, if Harris wants to win the support and trust of crypto voters, she needs to demonstrate more "sincerity."
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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