As the 2024 US election reaches its final stages, cryptocurrency companies are pouring money into trying to influence the outcome.
Nearly half of the corporate money flowing into elections comes from the cryptocurrency industry. Reportedly About $119 million was raised this week by the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen. Coinbase Over 80% of donations are in Ripple.
Much of the money is going to super PACs supporting pro-crypto candidates running in this year’s election. The cryptocurrency industry is facing increased scrutiny under the Biden administration, with Coinbase and Ripple being two of the biggest companies locked in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has sought to exploit the rift between the crypto industry and Democrats by pitching himself as a crypto advocate, even delivering a keynote speech at a major bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, last month. But with the House, Senate and presidency still up in the air, money is flowing to both parties.
No other sector is catching up with cryptocurrencies, including oil companies and banks, which have historically been big political donors.
According to the Public Citizen report, the crypto sector has made up 15% of all publicly disclosed donations since 2010, when the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision allowed unlimited corporate funding in U.S. elections. More than 90% of corporate crypto funds raised came during this election cycle.
Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen, which authored the latest report, said the huge amounts of money crypto companies have “poured into silencing crypto’s critics and empowering its supporters embodies everything that was wrong with the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision.”
Since the 2010 ruling, cryptocurrency companies have become second only to fossil fuel conglomerates in total election-related spending, according to Claypool’s research.
FairShake is the most popular pro-cryptocurrency bipartisan super PAC, receiving funding from some of the industry’s biggest companies, making it one of the most funded PACs this year.
The majority of the group’s funding came from four sources: Coinbase contributed $49 million, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz contributed $47 million, Ripple contributed $47 million, and JumpCrypto contributed $15 million. In total, FairShake and its affiliated PAC2 groups have raised about $169 million, with more than 90% of that coming directly from companies.
Other funding came from a variety of donors, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who gave $1 million, and the Winklevoss twins, who donated $5 million.
Federal Election Commission filings Fairshake spent about $75 million in July, according to a report released Tuesday. Data compiled from FEC reports by OpenSecrets FairShake has indicated it has about $120 million available to deploy with less than 80 days left until the November election.
The super PAC has pledged to donate $25 million from its pool to 18 general election House candidates, split between nine Democrats and nine Republicans, as well as $18 million to three Senate races.
“An eye-watering amount”
The industry’s strategy worked in the primaries.
According to a Public Citizen report, of 42 primary elections that received funding from crypto-backed super PACs, candidates selected by the crypto industry won 36, though many of them have not publicly promoted their stance on crypto.
“When FairShake and its affiliates spend money to attack crypto skeptics or boost crypto supporters in an effort to influence elections, they never mention crypto in their ads,” Claypool said.
In congressional elections in New York and California, crypto-funded campaign ads made no mention of cryptocurrencies and instead attacked their targeted candidates with traditional political attacks.
“The only reason crypto is even a hot topic in this election is because crypto companies are spending incredible amounts of money to become impossible to ignore,” Claypool said.
Democrats are trying to show they can find common ground with the industry, despite tensions that have arisen in recent years.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) During a virtual town hall called “Crypto4Harris” in August, he said the cryptocurrency bill could pass the Senate by the end of the year.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is actively working to hammer out a policy stance on the cryptocurrency industry and reset President Joe Biden’s approach, several key Democrats told CNBC. Announced We plan to take a stance in support of cryptocurrency innovation.
Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryal Shirzad praised the move, saying: Write on X “I was pleased to participate in numerous discussions with the Harris team,” he said, describing the approach as “constructive” and saying the “conversations were an important first step.”
Meanwhile, money from executives of digital asset companies has been pouring into Trump’s campaign since he leaned toward pro-crypto candidates.
President Trump has made increasingly bullish talking points about cryptocurrencies during his election campaign and in late July announced he had raised $25 million in crypto-related funding, a figure that CNBC has not independently verified.
Cryptocurrency executives attended Trump’s fundraisers in San Francisco and Nashville, where the Republican candidate promised attendees that he would ensure that the federal government’s Bitcoin holdings would never be sold if he were returned to the White House.
“This afternoon, I’m going to announce a plan to make America the crypto capital of the world and the bitcoin superpower of the world,” Trump said. “And we’re going to get it done.”
