Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprising turn toward positioning herself as a crypto-friendly candidate that may tap into the industry's deep campaign funding resources.

Harris' new pro-crypto position is buried in her recently announced "Opportunity Agenda for Black Men," an economic plan to uplift African American men throughout the country. Published on Oct. 14, less than a month before the election, the plan emphasizes digital assets' increasingly important role in the Black community and touts friendly regulatory conditions.

The plan states that more than 20% of Black Americans own or have owned digital assets, acknowledging how cryptocurrencies have helped increase access to financial services. Harris vows to ensure that investors in digital assets benefit from a regulatory framework, with particular emphasis on protection for Black men and other participants in the crypto markets.

This is Harris' clearest endorsement of cryptocurrency yet, and it is a dramatic departure from the hostility this administration has, until now, seemed to show to the sector. The Vice President’s sudden warm feelings toward crypto follow a series of conversations with Black men in cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, and Detroit, implying a grassroots base for her new policy position.

But the crypto world's response to Harris' olive branch has been decidedly mixed. Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO, framed the statement as a "Rorschach test," implying that it could be seen as either aggressively pro-crypto or anti-crypto, depending on one's perspective. This ambiguity has led to skepticism among industry participants who struggle to square Harris' recent utterances with the current administration's regulatory approach.