Kamala Harris Offers ‘Fresh Opportunity’ to Make Inroads With Democrats, Says Blockchain Association CEO

Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith and her band of crypto cheerleaders have a roadmap to drive support for crypto forward on Capitol Hill in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election. 

That’s despite the fact that the digital asset industry’s path to courting lawmakers—including the next U.S. president—has been filled with twists and turns. This week, Vice President Kamala Harris has emerged as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, shortly after incumbent President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he was dropping out of the election.

Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump was shot at nearly two weeks ago at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The former president is now slated to speak at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville, where Smith shared her thoughts in an exclusive interview with Decrypt on Thursday.

These “interesting times” in American politics, however, haven’t created roadblocks for the Blockchain Association’s crypto advocacy roadmap, Smith said. 

“[Kamala’s nomination] is a fresh opportunity to have kind of a reset from the top of the Democratic Party for what their position is on crypto,” she told Decrypt.  “I think the hope is that bringing in a younger candidate who has an understanding of the California [tech-driven] economy provides an opportunity to get a fresh set of policies out there.”

The Blockchain Association recently reached out to Harris’ team “through various channels,” according to Smith. They have not received a response to any of their inquiries from the campaign as of this writing.

Still, Smith said she and her colleagues are optimistic that they will soon be able to make more inroads with a candidate like Harris.

Taking point on talks with Harris’ team

The Blockchain Association is one of several crypto advocacy groups that have reached out to Harris and her team since President Biden withdrew from the presidential race last Sunday. 

On Monday, the Digital Chamber asked Harris to invite crypto leaders to have an “open dialogue” with her team and include pro-crypto language in her party’s official platform, reminding the presumptive nominee that her candidacy represents an opportunity to change some crypto proponents’ perceptions that the Democratic party has historically acted with hostility toward the digital asset industry.

That distrust toward Harris and the Democratic Party more broadly has surfaced on X this week, with several prominent members of the crypto community expressing doubts that a Harris-led administration could strike a different chord on crypto regulations and policy from the Biden administration. 

“What can [Harris] say to us when she’s actively imprisoning developers, forcing our industry overseas,” BTC Inc. Founder David Bailey said in an X post on Wednesday, shortly after reporting Harris did not respond to a request to speak at his company’s massive crypto conference this week.

However, Smith has hope that the Harris campaign is still ramping up and will soon engage with crypto leaders.  

“I don’t expect that Harris is going to have the exact same slate of policy positions that Biden has,” Smith said.  “Harris can differentiate herself.”

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.