Good day everyone,
I hope you are all having a good day, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things crypto. In this post I will be looking at the potential impact of a Trump or a Harris win in the upcoming United States Presidential election, while also looking at who crypto voters are in favour of winning.
Trump v Harris
With the clock ticking down towards the United States Presidential Election, the ramifications of a win for Trump or Harris will have widespread impacts on a number of communities and industries. The crypto industry will be no different and given the firm stance of the previous administration towards crypto, many will be keen to see what the future will hold under either of the two candidates.
The crypto industry has been spending millions of dollars in recent months on political donations, with many trying to pull influence and favour ahead of the November elections. This is mainly in hope of more favourable laws and enforcement in the future. Along with the battle between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, there are also the 435 districts in the House of Representatives up for re-election, as well as 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate.
Current Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, noted that “investing public around the globe has lost too much money.” He emphasised this point due to, in his opinion, crypto companies not following the laws his agency tries to enforce. Many have been critical of the SEC, and Gensler in particular, for their role in trying to enforce unclear and unset rules upon the crypto industry. The role of the SEC in the next government will be of keen interest for all involved in the crypto space.
With crypto considered one of the world’s most hotly-debated technologies, it is an issue which has created a clear divide between the Trump campaign and the outgoing Biden administration. Trump has made a number of promises to make America “the crypto capital of the planet” as he looks to create a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile” similar to the US government’s gold reserves. All this is being done in the hopes of drawing in the votes of crypto enthusiasts, and along with his sons, Trump has been part of launching a new crypto business known as 'World Liberty Financial.' Although few details have been provided so far, it is believed he is aiming to create a place for people to have 'financial freedom' from the traditional systems. On the launch, Trump stated:
"I think crypto is one of those things we have to do.”
Considering only three years ago Trump stated he believed that Bitcoin was something that "seems like a scam" and a threat to the US dollar, it has been quite the turnaround from Trump. This new-found enthusiasm has endeared Trump to the crypto community and is a stark contrast to the previous regime of Biden. With Harris serving as vice-president to Biden during the years of the White House leading a barrage of crackdowns against the crypto industry, many consider Trump the more favourable candidate in terms of the future and growth of the crypto industry.
Trump made an appearance at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville earlier this year, while Harris decided against making an appearance. So far there has been little of note from the Harris campaign in terms of a cryptocurrency manifesto, compared to the numerous promises made by Trump. While Harris has remained tight-lipped on the subject, one of her advisors noted that she would “support policies that ensure that emerging technologies, and that sort of industry, can continue to grow”.
A number of meetings have taken place between her team and industry executives in an attempt to build trust in her potential as a president who would support the innovative industry. Paul Grewal, who is chief legal officer at crypto firm Coinbase and was in attendance at those meetings, noted:
“I can't underscore enough how important this is, not just for the US, but for the for the world. Not only is the US an important market for crypto, but so much of the important technology surrounding has been developed here. And I think it's also critically important that we not lose sight of the fact that the rest of the world is not simply waiting for the US to get its act together.”
Grewal also added that given how close the race for the White House is, “every vote is going to count, and crypto votes are no exception”. So far the crypto industry has spent an unbelievable amount of $119 million in donations towards the presidential campaign, according to the non-profit Public Citizen. Many are looking to help elect lawmakers who will take a positive and sympathetic view of the industry. When it comes to corporate donations, the crypto industry has spent more than any other, mainly due to the fact they are attempting to discipline the US congress to give in to their demands for less oversight. Some argue this will give less protection to consumers, while others argue this will help the industry to grow and innovation to develop. Grewal also added:
“This is not an industry that is shying away from regulation.”
These comments were made in relation to a United States bill to regulate cryptocurrencies. It was passed by the House but not the Senate, and many critics had said it gives less protection to consumers. Grewal added that the sector wants the same standards applied to crypto as are applied to other assets, “no tougher, but no weaker”.
Fans of crypto argue that it offers users a fast, cheap and secure way to move funds, a survey by the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, found that the number of Americans using it has seen a reduction from 12% in 2021 down to 7% in 2023. Much of that can be attributed to the turmoil faced in the industry during the last couple of years. Back in March of this year Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and boss of FTX, was handed a 25 year jail sentence for fraud after he stole billions of dollars from customers around the world. In April Binance’s Changpeng Zhao was handed a 4 month prison sentence and his company paid a $4.3bn (£3.2bn) fine after he admitted to allowing criminals, child abusers and terrorists to launder money on his platform.
The SEC have often been portrayed as the villains in the crypto industry with their heavy-handed regulations and enforcement, and they also brought a case against Binance and Coinbase. Those were just two of the record-high 46 enforcement actions the financial regulator took last year against firms in the crypto industry. While many will be hoping to see Gensler vacate his position as chair of the SEC, and even recently billionaire Mark Cuban threw his hat into the ring for the position in the next government, Gensler did explain that the rules that force companies that want to raise money from the public to “share certain information” with them have been in place to protect investors since the SEC was created back in 1934 after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Gensler stated:
“This is a field that has come along, and just because they're recording their crypto assets on a new accounting ledger, they [wrongly] say ‘we don't think we want to comply with the time-tested laws. Crypto is just a small piece of the US and worldwide capital markets, but it can undermine trust that everyday investors have in the capital markets.”
It is not only in the United States where the subject of crypto has been contentious, but also in Europe. The European Union recently agreed laws to try reduce the risk of crypto being used by criminals, and they will be keenly watching the outcome of the United States election in the hopes of aligning regulations globally. Whether it is Trump or Harris who takes the seat in the White House, regulation will be at the forefront of all crypto users thoughts.
Have a great day.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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