At a fundraiser held at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan on September 22, Harris stated that she wants to build an “economy of opportunity” for artificial intelligence and digital assets by creating regulations and innovations that will protect consumers and investors in the United States.

“We will work together to invest in America’s competitiveness and future. We will protect consumers and investors while promoting innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital assets. We will create a safe business environment with consistent and transparent rules.”

Harris’ statement on digital assets is considered a departure from President Joe Biden. Biden has been heavily criticized by industry players for his crackdown on crypto businesses in the US through financial regulators; This operation is known as “Operation Choke Point 2.0”.

On the other hand, Harris’ Republican rival Donald Trump has been openly supporting the crypto industry for months. Most recently, Trump participated in the development and launch of World Liberty Financial, a controversial crypto venture, with his two eldest sons.

He had also previously vowed to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who has taken various regulatory actions against the country’s most well-known crypto players.

In response to Harris’ statement, Coinbase policy chief Faryar Shirzad posted on X that the Democratic candidate’s stance on crypto is not as “concrete and visionary” as Donald Trump’s, but is still quite remarkable.

Harris’ acceptance of the need for growth of the digital asset industry and the necessity of a safe road map for the sector is considered an important development in the Democratic Party’s official position towards this sector.

According to Shirzad, this statement may signal the beginning of the end of the “Biden/Warren era of destruction.” Shirzad also confirmed previous reports that Harris’ team was communicating with leaders in the crypto industry in the US.

Last month, Harris senior campaign advisor Brian Nelson made a more vague statement about Harris’s stance on crypto. At the time, Nelson said Vice President Harris would “support policies that will enable emerging technologies and such industries to continue to grow.”

He had also acknowledged the importance of clear regulations for the industry following the collapse of major crypto exchange FTX in November 2022.

Harris has received criticism for her silence on the crypto industry. In August, he was also criticized for not attending a virtual meeting organized by Crypto4Harris, a grassroots campaign for the crypto industry.

Many people expressed that missing this opportunity was a great loss for Harris to build trust with the crypto community.