Days after a leading crypto industry figure endorsed her, Vice President Kamala Harris gave cryptocurrencies a vague embrace this week — as part of a pitch to Black men.

Along with a pledge to legalize weed, the policy document released by Harris’s campaign Monday made a bid for Black men’s votes with ambiguous wording about regulating crypto. The move left industry critics wondering whether she backs strong or weak safeguards at a time when the industry is pouring money into political races.

While the crypto industry has spread its money around — spending more than $200 million on the congressional campaigns of friendly candidates from both parties — leading crypto figures have mostly backed former President Donald Trump. The preference is largely seen as a rebuke of the Biden administration’s willingness to regulate the scandal-plagued sector.

Crypto skeptics were divided on how to interpret Harris’s comments, with one saying that they seemed to be aimed as much at donors as voters.

“What she is doing is reflecting the will of some of her funders,” said Jared Ball, a professor of communication and Africana/Black studies at Morgan State University, “which is to get some policy support to give engagement in crypto trading more legitimacy, which is just going to help fleece more people.”

Courting Crypto

Since entering the race in July, Harris has courted business leaders who took a dour view of the Biden administration thanks to its enforcement of antitrust and........

© The Intercept