Harris Advisors Hold Key Meeting with Crypto Industry Executives: Courting the Crypto Community, She's on the Offensive
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Harris Advisors Hold Key Meeting with Crypto Industry Executives: Courting the Crypto Community, She's on the Offensive
After Trump has already clarified his stance on cryptocurrency, what policies and views might Harris outline next?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Weilin, PANews
Within the past month, senior White House officials held their second meeting with executives from the cryptocurrency industry. On Thursday morning Eastern Time, California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna hosted a long-anticipated virtual roundtable attended by Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, Director of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, and notably, Kristine Lucius, Senior Advisor and Legislative Affairs Director to Vice President Harris.
On the crypto side, participants included Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams, Stellar Development Foundation’s Denelle Dixon, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, billionaire Mark Cuban, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.
What did White House officials and crypto executives discuss? With Trump having already clarified his stance on crypto, what policies and views might Harris articulate next?
Crypto Executives Voice Concerns, White House Officials Show Strong Curiosity
In addition to those mentioned, attendees also included White House policy advisor Joshua Schenk, venture capitalist Ron Conway, Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon, Electric Capital co-founder Avichal Garg, and Kraken CEO David Ripley.
According to sources, there was some "venting" during the meeting, but participants also discussed use cases and policy implications for the crypto industry—including what regulators should focus on and how it affects employment and the broader economy.
Last month, senior advisors to President Biden including Anita Dunn, members of Congress, and several leaders from the crypto industry met at Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., also hosted by Rep. Ro Khanna. That meeting covered topics such as actions taken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the SEC's SAB 121 rule, and the need for the Biden administration to engage more constructively with the crypto sector.
Sources said this second meeting was much smaller but significantly different due to the attendance of Brainard and Adeyemo. “The key difference is who showed up,” one source noted. “Adeyemo and Brainard are the highest-ranking officials in the Biden administration actually responsible for shaping crypto monetary policy. Their presence fundamentally changed the nature of the conversation, bringing real decision-makers into the room.”
“This is widely seen as critical to making progress,” the source added. Both Brainard and Adeyemo were described as “very curious.”
During the meeting, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal urged the White House to support legislation regulating the crypto industry. “The current record [of policy] is ineffective. Any discussion that moves beyond this administration’s failed track record is positive,” Grewal said. “It’s not too late—but time is short. The White House should publicly back the bipartisan market structure bill passed by the House, push it through the Senate, and sign it into law.”
Pro-Harris Crypto Advocates Launch Crypto4Harris
Next Thursday (August 15), the grassroots group Crypto4Harris will host an event featuring speakers from the crypto industry, including Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council, and billionaire Mark Cuban.
“Crypto is building a movement behind Kamala Harris,” Crypto4Harris earlier posted on X. “A coalition of industry leaders, policy experts, and everyday crypto supporters are organizing to back Harris while advancing a nuanced policy agenda that positions America as a leader in digital assets.”
On August 6, Harris officially announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 presidential election. While the pair’s positions on crypto and blockchain remain unclear, reports indicate that officials tied to the crypto industry are joining their campaign team.
Recently, Harris added two former cryptocurrency advisors to her campaign: David Plouffe, who previously served on the advisory board of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and Gene Sperling, formerly a board member at blockchain payments firm Ripple.
Plouffe was President Obama’s campaign manager and senior advisor; after leaving the White House in 2013, he moved into the crypto space. He joined Binance’s Global Advisory Council in 2022 and became Global Strategy Advisor to crypto payment provider Alchemy Pay in 2023. Sperling served as economic advisor under Presidents Clinton and Obama before joining Ripple’s board in 2015. He began serving in the Biden administration in 2021. Both figures are expected to play key roles in shaping Harris’s crypto policy.
Courting the Crypto Community, Harris Is Making Moves
Regardless of outcome, the 2024 U.S. election marks the first time crypto has taken center stage in a major presidential campaign. So far, only Republicans have actively taken steps to attract the crypto community. Former President Trump and other GOP figures have increasingly embraced cryptocurrencies. The Republican Party included pro-crypto language in its platform at the July Republican National Convention, and Trump delivered a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference at the end of July.
The London-based think tank Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) stated that Harris must define her own crypto agenda—or risk ceding the entire domain to Republicans.
“Over the past four years, the crypto community has faced regulatory uncertainty. Other jurisdictions—such as the EU, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore—have enacted clear regulatory frameworks for crypto businesses, while the U.S. has fallen behind. Although legislative efforts like the FIT21 Act—the House-passed bipartisan crypto market structure bill—exist, they face strong opposition from prominent Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren. President Biden’s decision to veto the repeal of SAB 121 clearly signals deep skepticism toward crypto within the administration.”
“Outside Capitol Hill, the SEC’s enforcement-first approach to regulation has sparked significant controversy—even drawing criticism from within its own ranks… Trump, ever the opportunist, has identified a base of frustrated voters—and perhaps more importantly, potential donors.”
The think tank argues Harris still has a chance to reclaim leadership on this issue. Much of the hard legislative work is already done. While not perfect, the FIT21 Act and stablecoin legislation would provide crucial regulatory clarity for the industry. There’s little downside and potentially high reward—diverting votes and donations from crypto supporters away from the Republican camp could make a difference in key battleground states.
As of August 9, according to prediction market Polymarket, Harris holds a 49% chance of winning the election compared to Trump’s 48%. Recent developments have pushed Harris’s odds above even, breaking the previous deadlock. Notably, Trump and Harris have agreed to participate in a debate hosted by ABC on September 10—whether crypto will feature in that debate remains an eagerly anticipated question.
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