This mention of cryptocurrencies was the first one voiced by Kamala Harris. Alas, it appeared to be limited to one sentence, and there were no specifics. The politician simply stated her willingness to “encourage innovative technologies along the lines of artificial intelligence and digital assets” while protecting consumers and investors.

The latter point caused concern among crypto users. Still, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler usually attributed the need for lawsuits against various blockchain companies to a desire to protect investors. So it's definitely too early to be positive because of this mention alone.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump noted that the future of cryptocurrencies remains very bright. He stated this during an event held for his NFT holders. Moreover, the former president was asked about the coins’ prospects in case “God forbid, he loses the election.”

What will happen to cryptocurrencies under Kamala Harris

Senior Harris campaign officials are maintaining a dialogue with a narrow group of executives and insiders within the crypto market – including those from Ripple and Coinbase. Coinbase general counsel Paul Grewal is among those who have participated in campaign meetings.

In an interview with Coindesk, he said that there is now real progress in terms of the perception of crypto among Democrats. Here is his rejoinder on the matter.

The progress is real. All we need is sensible regulations and we will follow them. Their understanding of what the industry and crypto investors need from the Harris administration, if any, is becoming more sophisticated and deeper.


Note that many fans of digital assets don't believe such promises. Kamala Harris is the current Vice President of the United States, who wields enormous power. And since she didn't advocate for the coin niche while the Securities Commission led by Gary Gensler was causing her problems, it means the politician is unlikely to do so now. Moreover, since launching her campaign, Kamala has only mentioned the topic of digital assets once, limiting herself to just one application here.


US Vice President Kamala Harris is marginally ahead of former President Donald Trump on the Polymarket platform

In addition, Grewal does not deny that specific policy decisions on digital assets are unlikely to be made in the first place. He continues.

Sometimes things take a little longer to happen than some of us would like.

US President Joe Biden

Insiders also hinted that fans of decentralisation should be more patient. Harris’ campaign officially began two months ago when incumbent President Joe Biden left the race.

So she definitely had less time to inundate coin fans with positive promises like her opponent Donald Trump did. Here’s another of Grewal’s comments on the matter.

It’s not that campaigns have the luxury of developing fully thought out and complete approaches to regulating cryptocurrencies, any more than any other industry. To expect it is simply impractical and unrealistic.

Overall, the tone of Harris’ campaign echoes Biden’s stance on cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, this is not a good outcome for cryptocurrency owners, as Biden’s presidential term was remembered for numerous lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies and harassment by the SEC.

On top of that, sources have previously reported that Kamala’s team is considering current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler for Treasury Secretary. Obviously, such a person is unlikely to help popularise the coin industry. Much more likely to continue the fight against crypto from Gensler, who is characterised by serious experience in the matter.

Cryptocurrency trader

Meanwhile, investment managers are counting on the successful debut of options based on the Bitcoin-ETF. Recall that on 20 September, the SEC approved the placement of options based on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exchange-traded fund. This is the first time the regulator has approved options tied to a spot instrument on Bitcoin, Cointelegraph reported.

Bitwise spokesman Jeff Park said the listing of options on regulated US exchanges, where the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) protects traders from counterparty risk, means “monumental progress” for cryptocurrencies. Here’s what he says.

For the first time, Bitcoin will have a regulated market where the OCC protects clearing participants from counterparty risk. This means that BTC’s synthetic notional volume can grow exponentially without the risks that previously kept investors at a distance.

Options are contracts that grant the right to buy or sell - call or put, respectively - an underlying asset at a certain price within a specified time frame. If one party fails to honour the agreement in the US, the OCC steps in and settles the transaction. According to Park, spot-based options open up a variety of effective portfolio strategies for investors and have the potential to catalyse an "explosive" rise in the price of BTC.

The growth of the cryptocurrency industry


The bottom line is that Kamala Harris will continue to be an uncertainty for fans of digital assets. And that's a poorer prospect compared to Trump. Still, Donald is already talking about wanting to turn the US into the cryptocurrency capital of the world and the day before he became the first US president to conduct a Bitcoin transaction. So right now, Trump seems like the best option for the crypto industry.