Industry support has most loudly gravitated toward former President Donald Trump, who has strongly embraced crypto after years of previous skepticism. Trump says he’ll put a stop to the government hostility to cryptocurrency typified by the actions of Securities and Exchange Commission boss Gary Gensler. He has gone as far as to vow to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world if re-elected as president.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has not stated an official position on crypto.
Nevertheless, VanEck analysts have made a case for a Harris win being an even bigger boost for the orange coin.
Could Kamala Be Better For Bitcoin Than Trump?
When it comes to whether a Kamala Harris presidency would be good for the crypto industry, opinions are split. According to analysts at VanEck, fears that a Harris presidency would somehow suppress the price of Bitcoin or send it lower are overblown.
Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, and Nathan Frankovitz, the company’s digital asset investment analyst, said in a Sept. 19 report that Harris would likely continue the current economic policies that they think would weaken the U.S. dollar and bolster Bitcoin adoption.
“We would argue that a Kamala Harris presidency might be even better for Bitcoin than a second term for Trump because it would, in our view, accelerate many of the structural issues that drive Bitcoin adoption in the first place,” they wrote. “Should that happen, Bitcoin’s unique regulatory clarity will likely make it even more competitive than other digital assets.”
The strategists added that “as inflation and currency devaluation continue challenging fiat monetary systems, Bitcoin can serve as a vital hedge.”
Yet, Sigel and Frankovitz are of the opinion that the crypto industry as a whole, not just Bitcoin, would benefit from a Trump presidency for a second term.
“Conversely, We believe a Trump presidency is generally bullish for the entire crypto ecosystem, as it would likely produce more deregulation and business-friendly policies — perhaps particularly so for crypto entrepreneurs, who regulators have increasingly scrutinized in the past four years,” the report said.
Ex-POTUS Trump used to slam crypto as a “scam,” but has since embraced non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Bitcoin, and has even debuted his own decentralized finance (DeFi) project called World Liberty Financial.
Trump, who spoke at the July Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tenn., used Bitcoin a couple of days ago to pay for burgers at the PubKey bar in New York City.
BTC To Hit $200K In 2025 Regardless Of Whether Trump Or Harris Wins Election
Nevertheless, analysts believe Bitcoin will thrive over the long term regardless of who wins the U.S. presidential election in November.
“Regardless of the election outcome,” the VanEck team said, “the trend of growing fiscal deficits and rising national debt will likely continue. This suggests a weakening of the U.S. dollar, a macroeconomic environment in which Bitcoin has historically thrived.”
Meanwhile, the global head of digital assets research at British multinational bank Standard Chartered, Geoff Kendrick, shares a similar sentiment. Kendrick expects the price of Bitcoin to skyrocket regardless of who becomes president, hitting as high as $200,000 by 2025-end.
He cited three key catalysts primed to propel the BTC price to new lifetime highs next year, including the repealing of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (aka SAB-121) — a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule that discourages banks from offering crypto custody services — a notable increase in inflation, and massive inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In conclusion, Kendrick predicted BTC would reach about $125,000 by the end of this year if Trump reclaims the Oval Office, but he also foresees the pioneer crypto reaching a historic high of $200,000 by the end of 2025 “no matter who’s in the White House.”