Signaling a possible shift from her previous skeptical stance, Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly using Coinbase’s Commerce platform to accept cryptocurrency donations for her campaign.
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas revealed this information during a panel discussion at Citi’s TMT 2024 Global Conference in New York, as reported fortunately.
A change in democratic attitude towards cryptocurrencies?
Following Haas’ announcement, a Coinbase spokesperson confirmed to the media outlet that Future Forward, Harris’ official platform, political action committee (PAC), has in fact joined Coinbase Commerce.
The platform, which has been in operation since 2018, allows merchants to easily accept cryptocurrency payments. However, Harris’ campaign has yet to publicly address the issue.
Historically, the Democratic Party, under President Joe Biden, has shown a more cautious approach towards cryptocurrencies compared to their Republican counterparts. However, Recent lobbying efforts suggest a possible change in this position.
Haas noted that Harris’ acceptance of cryptocurrency donations represents a pivotal moment, signaling a growing willingness to engage with the cryptocurrency community. “She’s accepting cryptocurrency donations. She’s now using Coinbase Commerce to accept cryptocurrency for her own campaign,” Haas said.
Despite this claim, the advocacy group Cryptocurrency4Harris The company expressed uncertainty about Harris actually accepting cryptocurrency donations, as its official fundraising site does not currently reflect this integration. In June, Future Forward announced that it had successfully raised $50 million to support Harris, indicating strong financial backing.
“Kamala Harris has a unique opportunity”
The conversation around cryptocurrencies in political campaigns is evolving, as Haas mentioned that Coinbase is seeing “increased political spending” as the company anticipates potential regulatory clarity in the U.S. following the upcoming November election.
Coinbase’s CFO highlighted the unique opportunity that promoting digital assets represents and suggested that this could lead to more favorable policies in the near future.
Coinbase recently contributed to Fairshake, a political action committee that supports the promotion of cryptocurrencies. CandidatesDuring the second quarter, Haas noted “incremental” contributions to this PAC, which has reportedly won 32 of the 34 elections it has participated in, demonstrating the growing influence of cryptocurrency-related funding in politics.
While the CEO of Coinbase Brian Armstrong While Harris said the company has not directly donated to any presidential campaign other than the Senate race, the implications of Harris’ embrace of digital assets could signal a significant turning point.
On this matter, Haas said that Vice President Harris’ potential to positively influence digital assets legislation He was positive, saying: “He has a great opportunity. We are cautiously optimistic.”
At the time of writing, the total digital asset market capitalization continues to decline in value and currently stands at $1.93 trillion, down from $2.25 trillion at the end of August. On the other hand, Bitcoin, the largest digital asset in the market, is trading at $56,300, leading the broader market decline with a 3% price drop in the 24-hour time frame.
Featured image of DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
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