U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged to support digital asset policies that protect crypto investors, especially black men participating in the sector.
The promise was part of a wide-ranging agenda targeting men of color whom the Democratic flagbearer’s team believes could be pivotal in the November presidential elections.
Securing Black Male Voters via Crypto
In an October 14 release, the Harris campaign promised their candidate would create a conducive crypto regulatory framework to protect “black men and others” who participate in the market.
Harris pointed out that 20% of black people in the United States own or have previously possessed crypto assets. She also acknowledged the role these “new technologies” were playing in broadening their access to affordable banking and financial services, something she admitted they had been denied in the past.
However, the team provided no further details as to what precisely the regulatory framework being advocated would entail.
The candidate, who later spoke at an event in Erie, Pennsylvania, also did not elaborate on the plan. As noted by observers, the VP even failed to mention terms associated with the crypto industry, such as “blockchain” or “digital assets,” in her speech.
One critic, Bitcoin Magazine’s Nikolaus Hoffman, called Harris “the worst candidate for Bitcoin,” describing her latest pledge as “race-based.”
The scribe compared her approach to Donald Trump’s, which he judged as being “much better,” given that the former president had actually given specific details about what he intends to do for crypto.
Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance Gains Momentum
The Harris team itself had no kind words for Trump, claiming he had “repeatedly shown open contempt for black Americans and black men.” However, the Republican candidate, who recently declared himself the “Crypto President,” has made a lot of headway within the community.
After years of discrediting virtual assets, Trump had an apparent change of heart in this election cycle. He embraced the industry full-heartedly and made wholesale promises of putting in place friendlier regulators as well as creating a Bitcoin advisory council if he won the presidential race.
Only last month, Trump made headlines when he visited PubKey, a New York bar that accepts crypto, and bought burgers.
The 78-year-old seems to be tying himself even more tightly with the digital assets sector after his family fronted a new decentralized finance (DeFi) project dubbed World Liberty Financial (WLF). The project is due to start selling its native WLFI token as it looks to raise $300 million.
Harris, on her part, has had to shake off the anti-crypto tag that came with her being part of the Biden administration.
The administration’s face at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has become hugely unpopular in crypto circles for what some perceive as regulatory overreach in his policing of the industry.
