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The big stories about money and politics in the race for the White House
Kamala Harris’ advisers have reached out to leading cryptocurrency companies to “reset” the relationship between her Democratic party and a sector believed to be a key supporter of Donald Trump, her opponent in the US presidential election.
Members of the vice president’s team have been in contact with close associates. Cryptocurrency companies in recent days, four people with knowledge of the matter said. Among them are top exchange Coinbase, stablecoin company Circle and blockchain payments group Ripple Labs, two of the people said.
Office of the Vice President and Harris campaign declined to comment. Ripple and Coinbase declined to comment. Circle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harris’ Offer to Crypto Companies Comes as Trump Enjoys level of support from the industry. The former president — once a cryptocurrency skeptic — has embraced the industry and will deliver a keynote speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville on Saturday.
Crypto groups are likely to be a major source of funding for candidates in the election: the crypto super PAC Fairshake has raised more than $200 million from backers including Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz, according to filings.
Those advising the Harris campaign on business issues said the decision to reconnect with the crypto industry had little to do with attracting new election donations. They said the goal was instead to build constructive relationships that would eventually establish a smart regulatory framework that would foster the growth of the entire asset class.
Outside campaign advisers said Harris wants to change the perception among many top U.S. executives that Democrats are anti-business. One person said her campaign is using the leadership change on the Democratic ticket as an opportunity to reset relations with the tech industry, which feels targeted by the Biden administration, especially on antitrust issues.
A person close to her campaign said the underlying message Harris wants to convey is that Democrats are “pro-business, pro-responsible business.”
Harris is aiming to win back the support of those in the tech community, many of them in her home state of California, who have turned away from the party in protest at the threat of new taxes or regulations on their industry.
This month, venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz announced they would back Trump in the election, having previously backed several Democratic candidates. Their firm, Andreessen Horowitz, claims to be the world’s largest cryptocurrency investor and has raised about $8 billion to invest in the sector.
When they announced their support for Trump, the two venture capitalists criticized Joe Biden’s White House and Gary Gensler’s Securities and Exchange Commission. “They’re just going after us step by step, and using very despicable means,” Horowitz said at the time. “They’re destroying the industry.”
Some crypto companies hope Harris will be more sympathetic to them. “Her willingness to listen is a big deal. With Biden, you can’t even get a meeting… That makes people look very bad at the Biden administration,” said one crypto executive.
