While cryptocurrencies have been in the spotlight in the race for the White House, a notable absence from the recent unveiling of the Democratic Party’s latest platform ahead of the Democratic National Convention has disheartened the industry.
He x.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1825555882161340832″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>documentUnveiled amid great anticipation, it notably skips any mention of bitcoin or digital assets, indicating a gap in the official discourse that many had hoped would be addressed.
Vice President Kamala Harris' 'crypto reset' explodes
As reported According to Bitcoinist, there has been much speculation about a possible shift in the Democratic Party's stance towards the cryptocurrency industry, particularly under the possible influence of presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
There was a collective expectationEven among Democratic senators, there is strong support for a “crypto reset,” a move that could potentially change the regulatory landscape, especially in light of the crackdown on the industry during the current Biden administration.
Under the leadership of Gary Gensler At the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the industry has weathered a storm of lawsuits and regulatory challenges, including the controversial “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” a purported initiative to cut ties between the industry and the U.S. banking system.
In these worrying conditions, there was hope that Harris could usher in a more positive strategy. However, the silence in the party platform seems to contradict these optimistic prospects.
Harris leans on anti-bitcoin advisers
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California had expressed optimism about the party's potential shift on cryptocurrencies. In an episode of the Unchained podcast, crypto-in-new-democratic-platform-contrasts-sharp-pro-crypto-stance-of-trump-and-gop/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>outlined five key points that he envisioned for inclusion in the Democratic Party platform.
These included keeping the US as the hub of the cryptocurrency industry, ensuring fair banking practices for crypto companies, allowing banks to hold digital assets, demarcating clear regulatory boundaries between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and even considering using bitcoin as a reserve asset. Unfortunately, none of these proposals made it to the official platform.
Adding to the unrest within the crypto community, Recent revelations indicated that Vice President Harris is consulting with advisers perceived as anti-cryptocurrency to shape her economic strategy.
Key influencers have been identified including Brian Deese and Bharat Ramamurti, who helped formulate the Biden administration’s strict cryptocurrency regulations.
The cryptocurrency divide is deepening
In an attempt to engage the community, Democrats organized the “Crypto4Harris” town hall, where they advocated for what they called “sensible” crypto regulations.Critical issues such as Operation Choke Point 2.0 and the right to self-custody were absent from the dialogue, leaving attendees disappointed on the party's true agenda.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party, led by former President Donald Trump, has taken a markedly divergent approach by openly supporting bitcoin and digital asset innovation and opposing the development of a Central bank digital currency (CBDC).
However, Polymarket prediction market odds on a potential Harris win against Trump remained unchanged after the Democratic platform was revealedand Harris retains a 51% chance to Trump's 47%.
At the time of writing, bitcoin briefly reclaimed $59,000 as the token failed to consolidate above the $60,000 milestone over the past week.
Featured image of DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
