Author: Thomas Carreras, DL News; Translation: Felix, PANews
According to the on-chain prediction market Polymarket, as of 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris’ odds of winning the Democratic Party’s nomination have risen to 42%, while President Biden’s chances have fallen to 37%.
Despite denials from White House spokespersons regarding Biden’s contemplation of withdrawing from the race, predictions of his withdrawal have surged to 65%. Concurrently, in forecasts for the presidential election winner, Vice President Harris’ odds have climbed to 16%. Although there remains a significant gap compared to Trump (61%), she surpasses Biden (12%), ranking just below Trump.
Vice President Harris’ sudden rise has sparked speculation among crypto enthusiasts. What is her stance on cryptocurrency, and has she previously expressed any opinions on the crypto sector? Here are the details known so far.
Following Biden’s poor performance in last week’s debate against Trump, Harris has emerged as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. The question of Harris’ stance on cryptocurrency appears increasingly pressing.
While Biden has pledged to continue his candidacy and Harris has not publicly declared her candidacy for the 47th President of the United States, recent Polymarket forecasts indicate Harris’ odds of winning the presidential election have risen to 16%, placing her ahead of Biden (12%) though still trailing Trump (61%).
Simultaneously, a meme coin named Kamala Horris has surfaced, gaining prominence. According to Coingecko data, this meme coin has surged approximately 600% in the past week and over 1500% in the last 30 days.
Given that the cryptocurrency industry has become a hot topic in this year’s election and Harris’ unexpected rise, her stance on cryptocurrency appears particularly significant.
The Biden administration has maintained a hostile stance towards the crypto industry, but Harris’ position remains more ambiguous.
Harris has never taken an official stance on cryptocurrency nor made any public comments about the industry. Financial disclosures indicate that neither Harris nor her husband, Douglas Emhoff, have been involved in the crypto sector, instead showing a preference for investments in U.S. Treasury bonds and emerging markets.
It is worth noting that during the 2020 election campaign, Harris did hire Ryan Montoya, former Chief Technology Officer of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, as her scheduling director.
According to Montoya’s LinkedIn profile, under his leadership, the Sacramento Kings became the first team in the world to accept Bitcoin. The team has also mined Ethereum and launched an NFT series.
Montoya now serves as a presidential assistant at the White House, though he still oversees his original scheduling responsibilities. Therefore, Montoya is unlikely to influence policy.
However, as reported by The New York Times in 2020, Harris, originally from San Francisco, has close ties to the tech industry and was seen as “good news” for Silicon Valley when nominated as Vice President.
With the intensification of cryptocurrency lobbying efforts and representation from Wall Street banks in the sector, Harris taking a stand in support of Bitcoin before the presidential election could be “plausible.” Of course, Harris may also adopt a stance similar to Biden’s, advocating for policies that suppress cryptocurrency.