Galaxy’s Novogratz ‘hopeful’ VP Harris will be pro-crypto

While Donald Trump has already declared support for the crypto industry, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz said the former president’s opponent could soon do the same.

Vice President Kamala Harris — set to be the Democratic nominee to challenge Trump in the November election — has not talked much about crypto to date.

Harris’ campaign has not returned a number of Blockworks’ requests for comment about her stance on the issue. 

Trump, meanwhile, perhaps most notably spoke at Bitcoin 2024 last week. He stated he would, if elected, fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler and promised to “keep 100% of all bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires.”

His running mate, JD Vance, is also largely viewed as crypto-friendly.

But Novogratz noted during his company’s Thursday earnings call that two-party support for crypto as a technology will be critical for the industry, and is something he is banking on. 

With Trump’s recent crypto-related declarations, it’s Harris’ move.

“I am fairly certain, and hopeful, that nominee Harris … is going to soon make comments that show that she’s from San Francisco — the land of innovation — and that she wants to be a pro-innovation, pro-crypto president.” 

Read more: Harris VP short list shows mixed support for crypto issues 

Republican politicians have historically been more outspoken than Democrats in supporting the crypto industry. Still, there has been progress, with a number of Democrats joining colleagues across the aisle in voting to approve a resolution to invalidate the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, as well as the FIT21 Act.

“I am working really hard on the Democratic side now mostly because we don’t want to be a one-party industry; we’re a technology and a movement and it should be bipartisan,” Novogratz said. 

He added: “If we get the Democrats to go where I think they’re going … now we’ve got both sides, and we can be less worried about Washington and more worried about prosecuting our business.” 

Outside of politics, the macro backdrop appears set to help BTC and crypto more broadly, Novogratz argued. 

The Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, though the overwhelming expectation is for it to cut rates in September. Lowering rates “adds to the narrative of crypto,” Novogratz said. 

He added that neither Harris nor Trump have talked much about cutting the deficit by reducing spending — despite the national debt recently surpassing $35 trillion.  

“Until that paradigm shifts — and it’s hard to see it shifting — bitcoin as a store of value and bitcoin as digital gold is going to have an amazing appeal to investors around the world,” Novogratz said.

Read more: Bitcoin may stay in a ‘consolidation phase’ until US election: Novogratz

Bitcoin’s price was roughly $63,780 at 11 am ET on Thursday — down about 2.5% from a week ago, but slightly up 1.5% over the past month.

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