Tech elites are expressing their interest in cryptocurrency by providing campaign funding to crypto-friendly candidates, which is also influencing the attitudes of American politicians towards crypto assets.
Following the initiatives of Trump and Biden to “please” the crypto community, another US presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has endorsed cryptocurrency, stating that “cryptocurrency is a symbol of freedom and transparency.” During his campaign, Kennedy purchased 21 bitcoins to show support for cryptocurrency as a means of transaction.
In addition to the growing number of young crypto voters, the increasing financial power of crypto “heavyweights” and the influential crypto “think tanks” are also impacting the weight of crypto in the political landscape.
Last week, Ripple announced a $25 million donation to the crypto super PAC (Political Action Committee) Fairshake, and a16z also announced a $25 million donation to Fairshake.
During the 2022 midterm elections, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the US at the time, became a central force in shaping the political landscape with his multimillion-dollar political donations. After Sam Bankman-Fried’s incarceration, crypto companies like Coinbase and Ripple, as well as venture capital firms like a16z, have taken up the mantle to fight for the crypto industry’s voice through financial contributions.
Ripple, a16z, Coinbase, and other crypto PACs like Fairshake have become the main political influencers in the crypto industry for the 2024 elections. According to a report released by consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen on May 6, Fairshake and its affiliated PACs, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, had raised over $102 million for the 2024 elections, ranking third among all PACs at the time. Bloomberg previously reported that the crypto industry donated only $83 million to the 2020 US elections. Although the 2024 US presidential election is months away, the political donations from the crypto industry have already far surpassed the previous election cycle.
Ripple contributed approximately $50 million to the over $100 million raised by Fairshake. With a16z’s $25 million donation, their total contribution is expected to reach $47 million, and Coinbase donated $23.5 million. Additionally, Jump Crypto donated $5 million, and Circle and Kraken donated $1 million each.
Prominent figures in the crypto industry have also participated in the donations. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire executives behind Winklevoss Capital Management, donated a total of $5 million. Phil Potter, the executive of Tether and Bitfinex, donated nearly $2 million, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong personally donated $1 million. In addition, executives from Electric Capital, Multicoin Capital, and Paradigm donated varying amounts of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Behind the more aggressive crypto political donations is the struggle for survival by crypto companies facing increasingly stringent regulations from US regulatory agencies. The main force behind the crypto donations for the 2024 US elections is a group of institutions that have been most affected by US regulations, such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Kraken, all of which have been accused of violating securities laws. While Kraken chose to accept a $30 million fine as a settlement, Ripple, Coinbase, and other institutions are still fighting against US regulatory agencies. Ripple recently submitted a motion opposing the SEC’s request for a $2 billion fine, asking the court to impose a fine of no more than $10 million. The lawsuit against Coinbase by the SEC for alleged securities law violations is still ongoing.
Compared to obtaining funds through wealthy crypto companies and investment firms, Coinbase’s crypto lobbying organization, Stand With Crypto, is also launching a PAC for the US elections, raising funds from its 440,000 members to support crypto-friendly politicians. Currently, the Stand With Crypto website shows that nearly 900,000 crypto users have contributed over $87 million, with the largest donation of $1 million coming from Moopay.
According to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks US political funding data, there are also several crypto industry supporters among the largest political donors in the US. Currently, the largest donor is Jeffrey Yass, a billionaire and co-founder of trading giant Susquehanna International Group (SIG), who has donated over $70 million between 2023 and 2024.
In July 2022, Jeffrey Yass donated 100 bitcoins (BTC) worth over $1.9 million at the time to the crypto political organization “Crypto Freedom PAC,” setting a record for the largest bitcoin-denominated political donation recorded by the Federal Election Commission. Joe Kildea, the person in charge of Crypto Freedom PAC, stated that Jeffrey Yass’s crypto donation may be due to the PAC’s support for candidates opposed to the Biden administration’s crypto regulations.
In addition, Marc Andreessen, the founder of a16z, also donated over $11 million to the current US presidential election.
More crypto donations are expected to emerge. David Bailey, the CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, recently announced that his team will raise $100 million to launch a campaign to “ensure the next US president supports bitcoin.”
According to a report by Public Citizen, in the six primary elections held in 2024, in which the wealthiest crypto PAC Fairshake and its affiliated PACs were involved and have now concluded, only one crypto-supported candidate failed, resulting in a success rate of over 80%. Fairshake spent $10 million on advertisements opposing Katie Porter’s campaign for California senator, ultimately leading to Porter’s defeat. In the coming months, 11 more candidates supported by Fairshake and its affiliated PACs will participate in party primaries, with some candidates already receiving over $3 million in support.
Fairshake has also pledged to invest funds in the Senate races in battleground states such as Ohio and Montana, which is crucial for ensuring a majority in the Senate.
Funds raised by Coinbase’s lobbying organization “Stand With Crypto” are also partially used to hold crypto events to have close interactions with the candidates for the 2024 US presidential election and promote crypto-friendly ideas.
In December 2023, Republicans Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Democrat Dean Phillips, participated in the “Stand With Crypto” event to engage with the crypto industry and interact with crypto media CoinDesk.
The Stand With Crypto website has shown that they plan to invite candidates such as Trump, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Republicans Doug Burgum, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Chris Christie.
In addition to exerting financial power, some crypto organizations or individuals are also acting as important advisors to candidates, influencing US elections and the future direction of crypto policies.
Trump has recently changed his stance towards crypto and has been strongly advocating for it. For example, he has made statements like “making sure the future of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin happens in the United States” and has supported crypto by accepting crypto donations and pardoning the founder of Silk Road.
Trump’s series of crypto moves have gained him a lot of support, thanks in part to the professional crypto advice provided by David Bailey’s team at Bitcoin Magazine. Bailey revealed that his team has been advising Trump’s campaign to formulate crypto-friendly policies.
Bailey also mentioned an executive order submitted to Trump, which would be signed on his first day back in power and would focus on cryptocurrency issues, but no further details were provided.
In response to Trump’s crypto offensive, Biden’s campaign team is also actively seeking crypto advisors. According to The Block, Biden’s campaign team has recently started contacting experts in the crypto industry, including individuals previously rejected by Biden, to seek guidance on their crypto policies.
In conclusion, the 180-degree reversal of the SEC’s attitude towards Ethereum ETFs, as well as the unusual support for crypto from candidates like Trump and Biden, demonstrate that crypto has become an unprecedentedly important factor in the US elections. With the growing influence of crypto super PACs, the efforts of crypto companies to change the unfavorable regulatory environment, and the participation of crypto professional teams advising competing teams, the influence of crypto on the US elections is expected to continue to expand.
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