Sections of the crypto community are accusing Democratic leaders of paying lip service to the sector while failing to deliver any actual support.
This follows Kamala Harris’s policy priorities, which omitted cryptocurrency, and Chuck Schumer’s letter to senators outlining key bipartisan legislation that also excluded it.
Harris’s Policy Fails to Mention Crypto
This morning, Vice President Kamala Harris released her official policy statement. Despite speculation that she might adopt a pro-crypto stance, her priorities centered on topics such as artificial intelligence (AI) and notably didn’t acknowledge the digital asset industry.
Alexander Grieve, Vice President of Government Affairs at Paradigm, pointed it out in a September 9 post on X, stating, “VP Harris just released her official policy priorities. AI mentioned—but again, no crypto.”
In a follow-up post referencing a line from Harris’s statement about “other cutting-edge industries of the future,” Grieve noted that some might argue this is a placeholder for crypto.
However, he added that it’s difficult to “continue to support” an industry when the current administration, of which Harris is a part, has shown nothing positive.
Chuck Schumer Faces Backlash
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is also facing criticism for not including digital assets in his latest bipartisan legislative agenda. In a recent “Dear Colleague” letter, Schumer outlined key areas of focus for the Senate in the coming months, including rail safety, insulin pricing, and AI, similarly failing to mention crypto. Fox News journalist Eleanor Terrett pointed this out on X, where she said the following:
Sen. Schumer sent a letter to his Senate colleagues where he mentioned priorities for passing bipartisan legislation in the remaining months of Congress. Cryptocurrency legislation was not mentioned, but artificial intelligence was.
This is particularly notable given his previous statements at the “Crypto4Harris” town hall, an event aimed at gaining support from the community ahead of the November elections. During the event, the senator spoke on the importance of passing bipartisan crypto legislation by the end of 2024.
He argued that the U.S. could not afford to “sit on the sidelines” and risk losing digital asset innovation to other countries, expressing confidence that such legislation could be passed with a balanced approach that would encourage development while implementing reasonable regulatory guidelines.
The lack of follow-through from the Democrats has led to criticism within the community. One user on X commented, “Anyone who thinks that Kamala is crypto-friendly deserves to stay poor. She literally hasn’t said a word about it.” Another noted that they “just give lip service.”
