Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has started her own presidential campaign, she seems to be making moves in a space that lacks trust in Democrats: cryptocurrency.
“Shark Tank” star and bitcoin supporter Mark Cuban recently told Decrypt that Harris’ team contacted him to discuss crypto policy. According to Decrypt, Cuban said he doesn’t know if Harris or her team has reached out to any other industry leaders but described her inquiries as “a good sign.”
Cuban also told Politico by email, “The feedback I’m getting, but certainly not confirmed by the VP, is that she will be far more open to business, [artificial intelligence], crypto and government as a service.”
President Joe Biden has taken a harder stance against crypto than his predecessors. In May, the House and Senate passed a bill that overturned special rules set by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for custodians of crypto assets. Biden vetoed it.
Harris may be trying to hit the reset button. Not only has she spoken with Cuban, but her team reportedly has also reached out to crypto companies like Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Circle.
It’s unknown how much Harris was involved in or supportive of Biden’s crypto policies, and experts have told ABC News that it’s difficult to discern her stance. But generally, the Democratic Party seems split on the issue.
One downside of unregulated crypto is that it makes it easier for bad actors to profit from crime. Blockchain-based cryptocurrency transactions can cross international borders with ease and settle in minutes — without value limitations. So, a lot of money can get very far, very fast. It can also be done anonymously, and the transactions aren’t reversible.
Americans collectively lost about $4.5 billion to cryptocurrency scams in 2023. So stricter government regulations could benefit Americans.
On the other hand, Cuban previously criticized the SEC for regulatory policies that make it “impossible for good companies to do the right thing,” he said on X in May.
He wrote that the SEC has made it so expensive, time-consuming and difficult for crypto companies who want to comply with regulations that it’s become difficult for investors to differentiate “garbage” companies and investments from the real ones.
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