Kamala Harris receives a "B" on crypto, incensing community

09/25/2024 07:19
Kamala Harris receives a "B" on crypto, incensing community

Social media users are rankled by the relatively high rating for the Democratic presidential nominee.

This week, Vice President Kamala Harris was graded “B” for her support of cryptocurrency by Stand With Crypto, a D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy group funded by Coinbase. The rating drew the ire of the crypto community on social media, which objected to her relatively high rating for what they claim is only modest support of the beleaguered industry.

We've tracked 21 statements on crypto from @realDonaldTrump & he's rated Strongly Supportive.@VP Harris recently made a Somewhat Supportive statement & we've added it to our card.

Major candidates weighing in on crypto would've been unthinkable even recently. We're winning. pic.twitter.com/OQoqqylaia

— Stand With Crypto🛡️ (@standwithcrypto) September 23, 2024

In contrast to this, former president Donald Trump garnered a coveted “A” rating from Stand With Crypto, while running mate J.D. Vance also received an “A” rating. Both own crypto and have publicly announced their support for digital assets.

Harris’ running mate Tim Walz did not receive a rating due to his lack of a publicly reported position on cryptocurrency. The organization’s scorecard wrote his grade was “pending [a] stance on crypto.”

Stand With Crypto rated Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent critic of cryptocurrency, “F” (strongly against crypto), and awarded President Joe Biden a “D,” reflecting a position "somewhat against crypto." The organization pointed to seven of Biden’s public statements on crypto illustrating modest hostility toward the nascent technology. For example, last year, Biden said he proposed “closing over a dozen special interest tax loopholes for Big Oil, crypto traders, hedge fund billionaires — saving taxpayers billions of dollars.”

Over the weekend, Harris attracted the attention of the crypto industry when she said she would “encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors.” The allusion to cryptocurrency heartened some supporters, but others griped that the presidential hopeful hadn’t offered anything more than vague pledges without a concrete policy proposal.

“Unless I hear something concrete from Harris, I will take it as hot air,” Tim Kravchunovsky, CEO of the decentralized telecom network Chirp, told TheStreet Crypto.

Read more --->