Introduction
With the United States Presidential Election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump fast-approaching, one party and topic is playing a greater role than it ever has in the past: Web3.
Standpoints
The greatest impact of this election is the toss up of which candidate will assume the presidency, and how their views on cryptocurrency will shape their administration and policies. Over the last four years under the Biden Administration, the Web3 world has seen it all, ranging from all-time highs with Bitcoin and the emergence of spot ETFs, to a surge of NFTs and the collapse of FTX. Despite the significant changes taking place in the market over the last four years, Biden’s involvement has been heavily focused on pushing back, attempting to regulate the decentralized world with vetoes on legislation that had a strong backing and would propel the industry forward (Hoffman). Despite the sitting President’s views, Vice President Harris has taken a comparably more laissez-faire approach to the matter, distancing herself from her counterpart. Since her own campaign commenced in July, Vice President Harris has changed a more indifferent approach to supporting the topic, emphasizing the importance of the United States maintaining its position as a leader in the development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency trading (Stein and Zakrzewski). On the other side of the political aisle stands former President Trump, who has backed cryptocurrency longer than Harris, despite expressing skepticism in the past, seemingly recognized the importance cryptocurrency has in the election, realizing its inevitability. He has taken part in cryptocurrency from speaking at this summer’s Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, to backing a business endeavor with his sons: World Liberty Financial, a company that encourages traditional banking practices in the form of cryptocurrency (Pape). Both candidates have taken stances behind the market, but their true intentions won’t be revealed until they reside on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Endorsements
For Web3, this election cycle has been like no other. 2024 political runs have brought in the most donations in history from the cryptocurrency industry. Tallied just before the election, funds donated by crypto institutions and executives surpassed $230 million, outpacing other trillion dollar sectors (Terrett). The majority of these funds have gone to presidential candidates, but were also determined to go to congressional candidates. A prime example of these donations is evident with the co-founder of Ripple, Chris Larsen, who donated $1 million in XRP tokens to Future Forward, a Harris-supporting political action committee (PAC), while citing a belief in Harris’s innovation economy (Sigalos). Announced on the eve of Election Day, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, announced its commitment of $23 million to the 2026 midterm elections, which will be distributed by Fairshake and other pro-crypto PACs, highlighting a long-term approach to the relationship between political action and the crypto world (Dixon).
Onlookers
Aside from the internal operations, new applications are addressing the implications of the election. Polymarket, a financial platform that allows users to bet on real-world predictions using cryptocurrency, has grown in recent months. Despite being unavailable for United States-based users, Polymarket has garnered significant attention for offering people the ability to bet on outcomes of the U.S. election (among other predictions). At the time of writing, $3.2 billion has been placed on the outcome of the Presidential election alone, with Trump being given a 59% chance of winning, leaving Harris with a 41% chance. With these odds, a $100 bet on Trump could net nearly $70 in profit, while the same bet on Harris would more than double one’s money with a victory. Other betting options include the popular vote result, the balance of powers in the various government branches, and margins of victory in swing states. No matter the outcome, predictive betting with cryptocurrency could see a rise in the near future.
International
Despite its great significance, cryptocurrency has also defined candidates in other elections in their respective countries. President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador was first elected to the country’s highest position in 2019. Since then, he has taken many initiatives to further the importance of Bitcoin in his country, which paired with other policies, has contributed to an administration that has written a new narrative for the country. The influence and potential of cryptocurrency for a country is not new, but requires the right politician to unlock and harness it.
Takeaways
The positive cryptocurrency administration and policy indicates a mass adoption of cryptocurrency, Web3, and all of the technologies that comes with them. This showcases the growth of the roles companies such as Lucrisma can and will play in the financial world, and the value of embracing the transition into the decentralized financial world.