The Harris-Trump Debate Showed How Little Crypto Matters to Voters and Politicians

Trump and Harris didn’t mention crypto once last night because, despite the industry’s pretensions to relevance, most people don’t care about these issues

The vice presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on Thursday night covered a wide range of topics, from the candidates' plans for the economy to their stance on climate change. However, one issue that was notably absent from the discussion was cryptocurrency.

This omission is surprising, given the increasing popularity of digital assets and the fact that both candidates have previously expressed support for the industry. Trump attended and spoke at this year's Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, where he made promises such as, "all Bitcoins should be made in the U.S." Meanwhile, Harris has met with executives from Coinbase and other crypto companies to discuss regulatory issues.

So why was crypto not mentioned even once during the vice presidential debate? The answer likely has to do with the fact that, despite the industry's pretensions to relevance, most people don't actually care about these issues.

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, only 1% of Americans name cryptocurrency as one of the most important problems facing the country today. This puts crypto far behind other issues such as the economy (72%), health care (56%), climate change (46%), and immigration (38%).

Given these polling numbers, it's no wonder that the candidates chose to focus their time on discussing the issues that matter most to voters. And while some in the crypto community may be disappointed that their favorite topic didn't get any airtime, they should take solace in the fact that the industry is still growing and its path to mainstream relevance is sure to be long and winding.