After Crypto Donation, Kamala Harris Proposes: Crypto for Black Men

Days after a prominent figure in the crypto industry endorsed her, Vice President Kamala Harris expressed a vague openness towards cryptocurrencies this week — as part of an appeal to Black men.

In a move to garner support from Black male voters, Harris’s campaign released a policy document on Monday that included a pledge to legalize marijuana alongside ambiguous language on regulating crypto. This left industry critics questioning her stance on strong or weak safeguards at a time when the crypto industry is heavily involved in political contributions.

“What she is doing is reflecting the will of some of her funders.”

While the crypto industry has been actively funding congressional campaigns of friendly candidates from both parties, leading figures in the industry have predominantly supported former President Donald Trump. This preference is largely viewed as a response to the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate the scandal-ridden sector.

Opinions among crypto skeptics were divided on how to interpret Harris’s comments, with some suggesting that her remarks were targeted at donors as much as voters.

“What she is doing is reflecting the will of some of her funders,” said Jared Ball, a professor at Morgan State University. “which is to get some policy support to give engagement in crypto trading more legitimacy, which is just going to help fleece more people.”

Courting Crypto

Since entering the race in July, Harris has been actively engaging with business leaders who have criticized the Biden administration for its enforcement of antitrust and securities laws.

This group includes Silicon Valley venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who announced their support for Trump shortly before Biden withdrew from the race. Their firm, Andreessen Horowitz, has made significant investments in cryptocurrency, coinciding with increased scrutiny of crypto by the SEC.

Formerly a critic, Trump has become a supporter of crypto since launching his campaign. At a crypto conference in July, Trump mentioned that regulations in the industry would be developed by those who support it, rather than those who oppose it. He has also been promoting his own cryptocurrency recently.

Harris, on the other hand, has been more cautious in her approach. However, behind the scenes, she has been in discussions with industry insiders.

In a post on X on October 4, Horowitz, a close friend of Harris, revealed that he had several conversations with her and her advisors. Encouraged by the discussions, Horowitz announced a substantial donation to the Harris campaign.

“As we stated earlier, the Biden Administration has been exceptionally destructive on tech policy across the industry, but especially as it relates to Crypto/Blockchain and AI,” Horowitz stated. “So, while I am very hopeful that the Harris Administration will be much better, they have not yet stated their intentions.”

The Agenda

Prior to Horowitz’s tweet, Harris had made some positive comments about cryptocurrencies. However, within two weeks of their conversations being made public, she presented her most direct statement on the issue in a policy paper focused on aiding Black men.

In an effort to gain support among Black male voters, Harris’s nine-page “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” included conventional proposals such as forgivable loans for entrepreneurs and expanded apprenticeship programs.

However, the most prominent sections of the document called for the legalization of recreational marijuana and easier access for Black men who own crypto to benefit from financial innovation.

The paper outlined Harris’s commitment to ensuring that owners and investors in digital assets are protected by a regulatory framework, particularly Black men and others involved in the market.

“Black Capitalism”?

Mark Hays, a senior policy analyst, expressed concern that the industry could exploit regulatory clarity to secure lenient oversight under the guise of regulation. He referred to this as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” scenario.

The Harris campaign did not offer clarification on whether she supports regulation under the CFTC or the SEC.

“The specific role that crypto has played in this discussion has just been to refurbish those old claims.”

Setting aside the regulatory debate, Ball emphasized his larger concern about the document’s implication that “Black capitalism” could address the racial wealth gap.

“The specific role that crypto has played in this discussion has just been to refurbish those old claims and give them new packaging,” Ball remarked.

Despite differing opinions, some industry critics noted potential for improvement in the Harris campaign document.

“I have written that no one should be in crypto,” said Algernon Austin, the director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “But given that people are, definitely more regulation, more transparency, more safeguards would be an improvement.”