Kamala Harris had a chance at her Aug. 14 “Crypto4Harris” event to win back much of the ground that Donald Trump has gained since his appearance at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. A chance to put a growing crypto voting bloc at ease and vow to undo the frustrating restrictions that the Biden administration — her administration — has enacted.
She blew it.
Or, rather, her campaign blew it. Her only appearance at the Crypto4Harris town hall was as a logo in the top right corner. Harris was not at the event, and no statements or genuine platform points were given.
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Instead, crypto advocates and enthusiasts, desperate for some positive news from the political left, were met with a song-and-dance routine. A presentation of “Look how important crypto is to us!” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer even said as much, explaining how he “made time in his schedule” for the event (thanks for throwing that bone, Chuck).
But despite some heavy hitters at the start — Schumer was introduced by Mark Cuban, who also never appeared again — viewers quickly got the feeling that there wasn’t going to be much substance. It was a rally and a donation play, not anything to actually sink your teeth into.
Bitcoin, anyone?
Schumer’s attendance carries some weight. The New York senator was a key vote in the attempted repeal of SAB-121 earlier this year. The SEC ruling had pushed strict and misguided accounting standards onto crypto assets and seemed destined for the trash after successful repeal votes in the House and Senate.
But President Joe Biden vetoed the congressional action, leaving SAB-121 in place despite the will of two bipartisan efforts. Schumer’s leadership in that vote essentially split him from the current administration on crypto, which, in turn, lessens the gravity of his appearance at the event.
His remarks also were quite generic and muted, almost as if he had been directed not to say anything binding before the Harris campaign could form their crypto platform. Schumer said 1,309 words in his seven-minute pre-written speech (yes, I counted), and not one of them was ‘Bitcoin.’
Voters want regulation, yes. They want the scams to disappear and innovative new technologies to flourish. But they also want to know about their current investments. They want to know if their Bitcoin is safe, if they are allowed to mine it, and whether the government is going to try to watch and/or control how they use it.
So many of the headlines out of the event are about Schumer’s promise to “get something passed out of the Senate and into law by the end of this year.” But what does that mean?
It wouldn’t be a Harris-directed platform if it’s by the end of the year, so why should voters change their minds at this point? Who’s to say the veto won’t be used again?
Desperate times
The whole thing — Crypto4Harris, David Plouffe’s addition to the campaign, Ro Khanna’s roundtables — is starting to feel a bit desperate. As if someone finally realized that crypto matters to people, but still doesn’t really understand why.
There is a clear push from inside the Democratic party to make it a battleground. But so far, it seems more like an effort to become the tech candidate, assuming that will win over the crypto community by default.
Loudly, so everyone can hear it: Crypto is not just one technology.
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Schumer kept referring to Senate triumphs (particularly the ones he has led) regarding previous tech issues, most notably comparing crypto to AI. But the two issues aren’t really the same at all.
One is about keeping companies from misusing citizen information, and the other is about restricting government interference in citizen investment.
You start to feel this desperation when you look at who actually appeared at the event. Yes, Cuban was a significant get. But many of the other ‘experts’ were not what you would call heavy hitters in the crypto space.
It’s not over
So, Crypto4Harris wasn’t a screaming success. So what? The Harris campaign will have other opportunities to win over crypto voters, but they better get moving.
Trump has an extremely strong grip on the bloc at this point because of real policy talking points he continues to hit. He vowed to maintain a federal strategic Bitcoin reserve and said he would fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on day one of his second term.
That’s what voters want to hear.
There will undoubtedly be more strong statements from the Republican campaign in response to these new Harris headlines.
But his support is not unwavering. Trump’s history with crypto is imperfect, and as we all know, he frequently goes off script. There are millions of undecided voters that could be won over the next few months.
It just has to go better than the Crypto4Harris launch.
Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki is the CEO of Concordium, a layer-1 blockchain and technology firm. He worked previously as the chief commercial officer for Cooper.co, and as the senior relationship manager at Newscape Capital Group, both in London. He attended the University of St. Gallen and holds an MBA from IMADEC University.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.