The presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has become more competitive, with the VP now holding a slight edge over the former president.

Recent data from Polymarkets shows Harris’s odds of winning at 52%, giving her a 6% lead over Trump, who stands at 46%. This represents a significant shift from Trump’s earlier dominance and prompts questions about whether these changes align with broader market trends.

Harris Lead Over Trump Reflects Changing Election Dynamics

Nick Tomaino, General Partner at 1confirmation, emphasizes that prediction markets often reflect the collective view of invested parties. He acknowledged the possibility of dark money groups inflating Harris’s chances to sway public perception. However, Tomaino argues that media influence is likely more impactful than any attempts at manipulation within decentralized prediction markets.

“It’s true that dark money groups like Arabella Advisors spend billions to get their candidate elected (outspending peers on the right by 10x +). But that is not what’s happening on Polymarket right now. If Arabella wanted to put the entire $1.2 billion they spent in 2020 to make it look like it was 95% Kamala, market makers would quickly absorb that liquidity to reflect the true market price. This is a liquid market and there are many sophisticated players with the goal of making money,” Tomaino stated.

Meanwhile, Harris’s improved odds may also be attributed to her campaign’s efforts to mend relations with the cryptocurrency sector. The Biden-Harris administration has faced criticism for its crypto stance, but Harris’s team appears to be working to strengthen ties with the industry.

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A new pro-Harris group, “Crypto for Harris,” has emerged and plans a virtual town hall next week. The event will feature prominent figures such as Mark Cuban, a billionaire crypto advocate, Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, and several Democratic lawmakers

Despite these efforts, skepticism persists within the crypto community. Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, has criticized the idea of a reset, arguing that supporting Harris could harm the American crypto industry.

“As I have repeatedly said, the Biden-Harris Whitehouse has a war on crypto. There appears to be no reset. In fact, it appears to be even worse now. A vote for Harris is a vote against the American Crypto industry,” Hoskinson stated.

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Similarly, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss has also raised concerns about Harris’s commitment to repairing relations with the crypto sector because there is no publicly available information about her stance on the industry.

“If Kamala Harris has not yet publicly stated her position on crypto, then why does Crypto4Harris already exist? How is it possible for anyone in the crypto industry to support her crypto policies if they are nonexistent? This makes no sense. What’s going on here?,” Winklevoss questioned.