Crypto-community divided in support for Trump and Harris
The US elections are entering the decisive phase.
The US elections are entering the decisive phase. Five more days, and it will be clear whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will take the Oval Office. For the crypto world, this could be a major election, as many hope the new administration will bring more clarity on rules around Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
The sector’s preference seems clear: Trump should back the industry. Whether on the controversial prediction market Polymarket or in polls on X, the Republican enjoys broad support in the crypto community. Yet this impression can be deceiving, because the Harris campaign has also won influential backers in recent weeks. Which crypto celebrities are backing which candidates in the US election?
The Trump team Trump’s campaign team put the crypto issue on the agenda early. As far back as May, he hosted industry representatives at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Not long after, Jeremy Kauffman, a prominent figure in the crypto space, voiced his support for Trump.
The big wave of support for the Republican only started in the following two months. In June, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, Kraken founder Jesse Powell, and the Winklevoss twins—Tyler and Cameron—expressed their backing for Trump. In July, Elon Musk, Justin Sun, Robert Kiyosaki, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, and Messari CEO Ryan Selkis joined them. Around the same time, the Trump team stepped up crypto advertising, highlighted by his speech at the Bitcoin2024 conference in Nashville.
In August, Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, also spoke out for the Republican. In October, support followed from Bitcoin pioneer Charlie Shrem and Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
The Harris team Kamala Harris entered the presidential race late. She replaced sitting president Joe Biden, who stepped back amid growing health concerns.
After the Democratic Party officially named Harris as Biden’s successor in August, the first crypto celebrities spoke up for the 60-year-old candidate. JP Thieriot, CEO of the crypto platform Uphold, was among her first backers, along with former Ripple director Gene Sperling.
In September, heavyweight names from the crypto world such as Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, and Chris Larsen, Ripple co-founder, joined Harris.
Celebrity support continued into October. Unlike his fellow founder, Ben Horowitz (from Andreessen Horowitz) voiced support for the Democrat. Later that month, crypto journalist and podcaster Laura Shin and investment legend Mark Cuban joined in. Cuban even said in an interview he’d be willing to take the role of SEC chair under a Harris administration.
