BTC holds strong after Kamala Harris declines to speak at Bitcoin conference

• Democrat nominee Kamala Harris will not be speaking at the upcoming Bitcoin Conference.
• Senator Lummis plans to announce strategic Bitcoin reserve at the conference.
• Bitcoin is trading around $66K amid Mt. Gox distributions.

Bitcoin (BTC) held the $66,000 price level strong on Wednesday amid massive distribution from Mt. Gox's repayment to creditors. This follows criticism labeled at Democrat nominee Kamala Harris after news that she won't be speaking at the upcoming Bitcoin Conference slated for July 25 to 27.

BTC shows strength as Democrats struggle to gain crypto community support

David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, confirmed that likely Democrat nominee Vice President Kamala Harris will not speak at the upcoming Bitcoin Conference, which will kick off on July 25 and end on July 27.

Bailey previously confirmed that he was in talks with the Vice President's camp for her appearance at the conference, hinting at the possibility of a major pro-crypto switch among Democrats. However, Bailey released a follow-up post today stating that Harris will not speak at the conference.

"Kamala Harris will not be speaking @TheBitcoinConf. No surprise. What can she say to us when she's actively imprisoning developers, forcing our industry overseas, attacking PoW… it would have been a disaster for her," wrote Bailey on X.

The announcement has stirred criticism from the crypto community against the Vice President and the Democratic Party. Many suspected that Democrats may be plotting a move to win the crypto industry's support, considering Republican nominee Donald Trump's major headway among crypto-centric voters.

"I'm sorry, but you don't get to just screw our industry over for 4 years, push operation choke points, enlist Gensler and Warren as your champions, and then just pretend you're hip with Bitcoin. Major democrat donor told me Kamala says privately_ Bitcoin is money for criminals," said David Bailey.

Gemini exchange co-founder Tyler Winklevoss added:

Conversely, pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis is planning to announce legislation for a strategic Bitcoin reserve at the Bitcoin Conference, according to Fox Business. Crypto community members anticipate that Trump would endorse the bill at the conference.

Meanwhile, defunct exchange Mt. Gox has begun distributing BTC to creditors through the Kraken exchange and will start distributions to Bitstamp on Thursday. Despite the supply overhang, Bitcoin's price is up 0.2% in the past 24 hours, shocking many analysts who predicted a heavy downturn following the distribution.