Kamala Harris Speech Offers No Further Details on Crypto ‘Regulatory Framework’

Vice President Kamala Harris touted her “opportunity agenda” during a campaign speech Monday evening without elaborating on what it would mean for digital assets.

Earlier in the day, the campaign unveiled the broad agenda, which included the first thing resembling a substantive policy position from her on cryptocurrencies. But anyone hoping for more details from her speech in Erie, Pa., was left disappointed.

Harris didn’t even mention “blockchain” or “digital assets” in passing, as she’s done in prior appearances, much less crypto.

“We will build a future where we have what I call an opportunity economy, where everyone can compete and have a real chance to not just to get by, but to get ahead,” she said early in her remarks Monday evening.

The Harris campaign said earlier in the day that the “opportunity agenda” was aimed at bolstering support for her among Black men.

“Vice President Harris knows that more than 20% of Black Americans own or have owned cryptocurrency assets, which is why her plans will make sure owners of and investors in digital assets benefit from a regulatory framework so that Black men and others who participate in this market are protected,” a press release said.

An attached document echoed that message.

“Vice President Harris appreciates the ways in which new technologies can broaden access to banking and financial services,” the document read, before repeating the press release’s statement about the framework.

In contrast to Harris’ near-silence on the topic, former President Donald Trump has made a number of overtures to the crypto industry, promising friendly regulators and saying he would appoint a “bitcoin and crypto advisory council” at Bitcoin Nashville, an industry conference.

Last month, Trump visited PubKey, a Bitcoin bar in New York City, and bought burgers using bitcoin with assistance from the bar’s staff.

Crypto industry participants have commissioned a number of polls gauging voters’ interest in the sector. A Harris Poll (no relation to the Vice President) funded by crypto asset manager Grayscale suggests 77% of likely voters want candidates to be informed about crypto, with 21% of the respondents holding at least some crypto.

Read more: Candidate Harris Unlikely to Make Full-Throated Crypto Policy Before Election: Source

UPDATE (Oct. 15, 00:35 UTC): Rewrites headline, subheadline and opening paragraphs after Harris’ speech.