Harris: Will support AI and cryptocurrency industries

Author: Jennifer Epstein, Bloomberg; Translator: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Vice President Kamala Harris said if elected, she would help increase investment in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. She presented her economic agenda to donors in New York on Sunday, saying it would promote innovation and focus regulation on protecting consumers and investors.

"I will bring together labor, small business founders and innovators and large companies. We will work together to invest in America's competitiveness and invest in America's future. We will encourage innovative technologies like artificial intelligence and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors."

This is the first time Harris has commented on cryptocurrency as a Democratic presidential candidate, and investors and enthusiasts are waiting to see whether her approach will be different from that of President Joe Biden.

The crypto industry has emerged as a major player in the 2024 presidential election, with industry executives and investors irritated by onerous regulation under Biden looking to flex their muscles with large political donations.

At a Bloomberg News roundtable during the Democratic National Convention in August, one of her campaign policy advisers said Harris wants to help grow digital assets, but she said she’s interested in underwriting an industry that has seen a number of high-profile companies fail.

Harris’ Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, has publicly courted the industry, promising to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, whose term ends in 2026, choose industry-friendly regulators and create a stablecoin framework.

Last week, Trump made overtures to the digital asset community, paying for a burger with bitcoin at a cryptocurrency-themed bar in New York City.

Harris' economic proposals are primarily aimed at voters worried about high prices, which have been a political burden for the Biden administration, and Harris has promised to push a series of tax breaks and tax cuts to ease the burden on low-income and middle-class American families.

But on Sunday, Harris also sought to ease concerns about the way she runs her business, providing more insight into how she will handle regulation - part of her so-called "opportunity economy" agenda.

"We will create a safe business environment with consistent, transparent rules. We will invest in semiconductors, clean energy and other industries of the future, and cut unnecessary bureaucracy," she said.

On-site fundraising

Sunday's event provides a rare campaign opportunity for the Democratic presidential candidate, who hopes to consolidate her financial advantage over Trump.

The event raised $27 million, according to a campaign official, who called it the largest single event since Harris became the Democratic nominee.

Tickets ranged from $500 to nearly $1 million, and supporters at the highest donation levels received photos with Harris and access to two other events, a "freedom luncheon" and a reception for top donors.

The event featured many of the state's most prominent Democratic officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, as well as celebrities such as Padma Lakshmi, singer Audra McDonald, and actors Anne Hathaway, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Porter.

Organizers called it the last chance to meet the vice president in New York before the November election. Harris will not attend next month's Al Smith charity dinner in Chicago, a fundraiser for Catholic charities, and will spend her time campaigning in battleground states, her campaign said Saturday. The dinner is a traditional event for presidential candidates from each major party.

Visiting New York -- a city teeming with deep-pocketed Democratic donors -- Harris hopes to further expand the Democratic Party's huge financial advantage over Trump.

The vice president, the Democratic National Committee and state parties raised $361 million in August, leaving her with a bank account balance of $404 million by early September. Those figures eclipse the $130 million raised by former President Trump and the Republican National Committee in August. Harris and the Democratic Party have a $109 million cash advantage over Trump and the Republicans, who had $295 million in their campaign war chest at the beginning of September.

The Democratic candidate's fundraising spree has been fueled by donors from Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

The Democratic Party ...

Harris has also successfully raised money online, allowing her to maintain a light fundraising schedule since entering the race in July, with Harris attending only a few high-dollar fundraisers, including one in Washington last weekend. She plans stops next weekend in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where she built a network of donors during her time as a local and state election official in California.

Harris is fielding a strong field of backup, including running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz and her husband, Doug Emhoff, who will headline fundraisers.

Former President Barack Obama raised $4 million at a rally in Los Angeles on Friday. His office said Saturday that his signed grassroots fundraising messages and events he has attended — including one with Biden and former President Bill Clinton at New York's Radio City Music Hall — have raised at least $76 million.