Source: unchainedcrypto; Compiled by: 0xjs@ Jinse Finance
On July 21, US President Joseph Biden unexpectedly announced his resignation as the Democratic presidential candidate and supported Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate.
That’s forcing the cryptocurrency industry to now consider the impact she and other potential Democratic presidential candidates could have on the industry.
Although Harris is now the overwhelming favorite to win the nomination, her place on the ticket is still undecided, especially as some Democrats are concerned about Harris's chances of defeating Republican nominee Donald Trump in the presidential election.
The Democratic presidential nominee will be decided at the party convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22.
Here’s what the most likely Democratic presidential candidates have to say about cryptocurrencies:
Vice President Harris
Harris has never voted in Congress on any significant matter 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 see her as a friend of Silicon Valley and potentially good for the cryptocurrency industry. (Translator's note: Financial disclosures show that neither Harris nor her husband, Douglas Emhoff, are involved in the cryptocurrency space, preferring to invest in Treasury bonds and emerging markets. However, during the 2020 campaign, Harris hired Ryan Montoya, the former chief technology officer of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, as her director of scheduling and advancement. Under Montoya's leadership, the Sacramento Kings were the first team in the world to accept Bitcoin.)
However, if she is elected president and decides to follow through on the Biden administration’s wariness of cryptocurrencies and the SEC’s hostile stance toward the industry, things may not change much.
California Governor Gavin Newsom
Newsom has been a top surrogate for the Biden campaign, but many believe he has been shadow campaigning for the president for some time. With regard to cryptocurrency, Newsom has taken some specific actions that have impacted cryptocurrency regulation in California. In May 2022, Newsom signed an executive order to establish a licensing framework for cryptocurrency companies 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 Act 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 the deepest understanding of the cryptocurrency industry, which means he may be able to make the most informed policy decisions and at least be willing to work with the cryptocurrency industry to develop national 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 an important battleground state. Whitmer has not discussed any of her cryptocurrency positions, nor has she promoted cryptocurrency policy in any significant way in Michigan. This suggests that she may be more responsive to policy issues regarding cryptocurrency if she becomes president, or that she is simply not interested in cryptocurrency from a policy perspective. While other states such as California have implemented regulatory frameworks for the industry, there is no indication that Whitmer will do much in terms of cryptocurrency.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
Pritzker is reportedly worth $3.5 billion, so he’s a candidate who could finance his own campaign. If one of the potential candidates could be described as “crypto bullish,” it’d likely be Pritzker — whose office was, at least until FTX collapsed in 2022, silent on crypto. But in a 2021 Facebook post, Pritzker welcomed crypto ATM company CoinFlip to expand its roots and personnel in Chicago, writing that “the future of crypto is in Illinois.”
Additionally, Illinois under Pritzker was an early adopter of cryptocurrency. Moreover, his office’s decision to stop promoting the industry after the FTX scandal was not unusual, as many legislative bodies, including Congress, quickly gave up on advancing cryptocurrency policy until more people understood what happened at FTX. However, if the cryptocurrency industry wants to see one person become the Democratic presidential candidate, or 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 battleground 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 departure from Shapiro's 2019 policy before he became Pennsylvania governor. While Shapiro hasn't done anything major with cryptocurrencies, he hasn't said anything negative about the industry, either, even after crypto mining companies took advantage of state tax breaks designed to help build data centers. As such, 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 odds of winning the presidential nomination are slim, two U.S. senators and one Cabinet official’s stance on cryptocurrencies are worth a brief review.
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 cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians to record customers' crypto assets as liabilities on their balance sheets, a measure strongly opposed by the crypto industry. 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)
Along with Booker, Kelly was one of twelve Democratic senators who voted to overturn SAB 121. In the same Open Secrets poll, Kelly revealed that he has received $3,323 in campaign contributions from the crypto industry so far in 2024.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
So far, Buttigieg has not weighed in on the issue of cryptocurrencies as Transportation Secretary, nor has he made any comments or statements to clarify his stance on cryptocurrencies.
