Bitcoin Slips Alongside Trump's Odds Following First Presidential Debate

Donald Trump and Bitcoin are both losing support following his first live Presidential debate of 2024 with Kamala Harris.

Bitcoin fell as much as 1.5% to the $56K zone as the debate unfolded and has struggled to re-enter the $57K mark.

Trump, who crowned himself "Crypto President," has been the crypto industry's preferred candidate in the race while Harris continues to be an enigma.

Among his many pro-crypto pledges, Trump has vowed to axe crypto nemesis Gary Gensler from the SEC and that he will "keep every Bitcoin job in the United States of America."

"On day one I will fire Gary Gensler and appoint a new SEC chairman. As President, I will immediately shut down Operation Choke Point 2.0. … They want to choke you. They want to choke you. Out of business? We're not going to let that happen," Trump said at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville.

 "If crypto is going to define the future, I want it mined, minted, and made in the USA. Ultimately, my promise to each and every one of you is this, I will be the pro-innovation and pro-Bitcoin president that America needs and our citizens deserve."

Since Harris was announced as the Democrats' Presidential runner, Trump has struggled to retain a lead in the polls. Harris first overtook Trump with odds priced at slightly over 50c while Trump's remained at about 50c (yes, that's degen maths for you) in early August.

She continued to strengthen her lead over the following weeks, with Trump's popularity falling to as low as 44%.

However, in early September, the crypto industry rejoiced as Trump's odds rose to a 52% chance of securing the win in November while Harris's odds have slipped to 47%.

Following today's Presidential debate, Harris's odds have risen again to 56c on PredictIt while the duo have met a stalemate on Polymarket.

Harris has remained muted on the topic of crypto, leaving many to fear that the Democrat candidate would follow in the footsteps of Joe Biden.

Cardano founder, Charles Hoskinson, who was very fearful of another round of Biden, is predictably sceptical about Harris too.

"As I have repeatedly said, the Biden-Harris Whitehouse has a war on crypto," he said. "There appears to be no reset. In fact, it appears to be even worse now. A vote for Harris is a vote against the American Crypto industry."

Although Harris herself has not uttered the word "crypto" in her proposed policies, her support base is pushing her to embrace the industry.

In a virtual event 'Crypto4Harris', aimed at garnering crypto support for Harris, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer revealed that it is still possible to get some kind of crypto legislation out this year.

"We all believe in the future of crypto," Congress has a responsibility to provide common sense and sound regulation on crypto, and we need your support to make sure that any proposal is bipartisan," said Schumer at an online event hosted by Crypto4Harris.

Additionally, the likes of Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen have formally backed Harris in the 2024 US presidential race.

Larsen joined 88 other executives including 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and Snap chairman Michael Lynton in a joint letter, which said, “The best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy” is by electing Harris as president.