A digital asset lobby group backed by Coinbase, Stand With Crypto, has been forced to change its crypto-friendly ranking of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The group, which runs a website that ranks the level of support U.S. politicians have shown for crypto, had characterized Harris as “Supports Crypto,” giving her a “B” grade.
Group Deemed Harris’ New York Remarks Supportive of Crypto
The ranking followed remarks the Vice President made on September 22 at a New York fundraiser. She said she would encourage innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence and digital assets. She also promised to cut unnecessary bureaucracy, which many feel has been a hallmark of crypto regulation in the United States.
Stand With Crypto determined that the statement was “somewhat supportive” of the industry and upgraded Harris’ card on its website, giving it the second highest grade achievable.
For context, the same website has given Donald Trump an “A” grade, signifying him as being “strongly supportive” of digital assets. The Republican flagbearer has reportedly made at least 21 statements on crypto compared to just one made by his opponent in the U.S. presidential race.
While Stand With Crypto hailed the fact that the candidates were weighing in on crypto as a win, many in the community felt Harris did not deserve such a high grade.
Bitcoin enthusiast Wayne Vaughan referred to the Democratic candidate’s single submission on crypto as “neutral.” He further decried what he termed as the Biden-Harris administration’s history of open hostility to crypto, suggesting it should have earned the VP an “F” at best.
Michael Cairo, a lawyer at crypto-native boutique firm Horizons Law and Consulting, accused Stand With Crypto of “blowing” its leverage and acting like the 59-year-old California native supported the industry when all she had in her resume was “a vague statement about tech innovations.”
The criticisms did not stop there. Venture capitalist @HelpedHope accused the pro-crypto lobby group of pandering to both political sides to have some “negotiating power” in the event Harris won the November elections. He claimed that the Vice President’s vague reference to “digital assets” could mean anything, from off-chain airline points to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
Vice President’s Crypto Rating Retracted
Following the debate, Stand With Crypto issued an update, dropping its characterization of Harris as an outright crypto supporter and changing its scoring system for politicians.
The group’s executive director, Logan Dobson, took to X on September 25, saying they had received a lot of feedback on their scorecard and had made changes to it. He noted that going forward, giving politicians full grades on their crypto stance will require much more information.
“If a candidate has made some statements but not enough to warrant a scorecard grade, you’ll see those statements reflected on the page for everyone to see, but we’ll mark the candidate as “Needs more information.”
This new direction can be seen on Harris’s profile on the website, which has been changed to indicate that there’s “not enough information” regarding her stance on crypto.