‘I expect to see no mention of Bitcoin’ — MARA CEO on Harris’ platform

Depending on the November presidential election outcome, Fred Thiel said he would consider “looking outside the US” for Bitcoin mining firm MARA’s operations.

United States Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has the endorsement of many crypto users who may see the campaign as an opportunity for a “reset,” but some in the mining industry are still skeptical.

A MARA — formerly Marathon Digital Holdings — spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the crypto mining firm was attempting to engage with both sides of the political aisle ahead of the 2024 election but had gotten mainly positive responses from those outside the Democratic Party. Republican nominee Donald Trump met with representatives of many mining companies in June, taking photos and declaring his intention to have all Bitcoin (BTC) “made in the USA” — a pledge he reiterated to Bitcoin 2024 conference attendees in July.

Before US President Joe Biden announced he would not run for reelection in 2024, many of the criticisms against the administration on crypto were directed at enforcement actions brought by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and legislation equating digital assets with illicit use introduced by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. The senator has criticized the energy usage of mining firms, suggesting it could negatively impact the environment.

Harris’ campaign is less than three weeks old and, at the time of publication, has never directly commented on crypto or blockchain technology. Just as the Trump campaign reached out to miners, some have suggested that the Democratic presidential candidate should establish a clear position on digital assets for voters to weigh before November.

Speaking to Cointelegraph on Aug. 15, MARA CEO Fred Thiel said representatives from Trump’s and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaigns “reached out to engage with the industry very early” to establish a rapport, later establishing platforms generally supportive of miners. Thiel suggested that President Biden might have softened his position on legislation and policy perceived as “anti-crypto” by many in the industry, realizing there may be a political price to pay among single-issue voters in the election.

However, according to the CEO, Democratic efforts to suggest Harris should support crypto have fallen short. An advocacy group called ‘Crypto4Harris’ held a virtual town hall on Aug. 14 in which lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, spoke in favor of sensible digital asset regulation.

“Members of our industry and myself directly have reached out to various members of the Harris team to say, ‘Hey, we would love to talk to you about Bitcoin and why we think it’s important that you guys support Bitcoin,’” said Thiel. “Our concern is that the Harris administration takes an aggressive stance against Bitcoin […] As an industry, we’re agnostic about politics; we just want our industry to flourish.”

‘No mention of Bitcoin’

Harris is expected to announce her economic agenda on Aug. 16. Her campaign said the platform would focus on reducing “corporate price gouging” to “bring down Americans’ grocery costs and keep inflation in check.” 

“I expect to see no mention of Bitcoin in that policy, which tells me there is no change to her perspective over what the Biden administration has done, which tells me that they are going to target it,” said the MARA CEO. “If there is language in the policy platform that is supportive of Bitcoin […] that would be a good sign.”

The MARA CEO added:

“It would be insane for me to be supportive of a candidate who’s going to be detrimental to my industry because I’m not fulfilling the fiduciary responsibility I have as the CEO of a company. I’d be harming my shareholders by doing that.”

Presidential race tightens

Many single-issue crypto voters are drawn to candidates like Trump and RFK Jr. However, since entering the presidential race on July 21, polling for Harris has suggested a dead heat between her and the Republican candidate.

Related: Kamala Harris presents an opportunity for Democrats on crypto, say lawmakers

As of Aug. 15, market prediction platform Polymarket — popular among crypto users — showed Harris ahead of Trump in many battleground states, with a ten-point advantage nationwide. Thiel seemed to acknowledge there was a possibility that the Democratic candidate could have an edge in the 2024 race, leaving an uncertain future for BTC miners.

“There is nothing that the Harris team has done that indicates to me at least that they will be friendly towards Bitcoin, which just tells me maybe we really should accelerate moving our business offshore,” said Thiel. “Let’s just say that all my strategic planning for 2025 right now is looking outside the US.”

MARA announced in August that it would stamp all BTC blocks produced in the US with the text “Made in USA” — seemingly in response to Trump’s campaign pledge. Cointelegraph contacted a Cleanspark spokesperson, who declined to comment on the presidential race. A Riot Platforms spokesperson did not respond at the time of publication.