Crypto Lobby Groups Raise $78M to Influence 2024 Election
It promises to be one of the most consequential elections in the recent past, with President Joe Biden pushing hard to be reelected even as Donald Trump wages one of the fiercest campaigns in the recent past. As the campaigns heat up, the focus will be on the markets, which are expected to be on toes, as has always been the case over the past years. Lobbying is already heating up with the cryptocurrency industry leading the onslaught as it seeks to push for the election of favorable candidates to enact legislation that favors the sector.
Crypto Lobbying War Chest
Political action committees (PAC) funded by cryptocurrency leaders have built a campaign war chest of $78 million that they plan to use to influence the 2024 election. The action committees led by Fairshake, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs plan to use a good chunk of money to support pro-crypto candidates.
The three super committees can potentially raise more money as the cryptocurrency industry seeks to safeguard its interest at one of the most pivotal moments. Fairshake has been one of the most aggressive, having received donations from more than 20 wealthy and influential players in the crypto scene.
Andreessen Horowitz, one of the biggest crypto proponents, has been one of the biggest donors donating money to finance crypto-friendly politicians. Crypto exchange giant Coinbase and venture capital executive Fred Wilson have also aggressively donated money to crypto funding campaigns.
Tech executives Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Ripple have also joined the bandwagon of raising funds to support crypto-friendly politicians. However, the industry lost one of its biggest spenders, former crypto king Sam Bankman Fried, who is in jail, having spent more than $36 million during the midterm elections.
Clamping Regulatory Pressure
The sector has come under immense pressure in recent months amid soaring regulatory pressure and scrutiny from the US Securities Exchange. Coinbase and Binance are cryptocurrency exchanges targeted over how they handle people’s money and sell cryptos. Ripple is another cryptocurrency that has been at loggerheads with the SEC over allegations it sold XRP tokens as securities.
Donations for crypto-friendly campaigns have been growing as the investors push to support like-minded candidates to make for friendly legislation that would fuel growth and accelerate innovation in the sector. In addition, the investors will oppose candidates who plan to kill America’s advanced technologies, including blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Nevertheless, the candidates that the committees will back next year are still unclear. Currently, most committees are spending millions of dollars on television advertisements as they support a select group of lawmakers. Fair shake super PAC has spent close to $1 million on ads.
The push to support crypto-friendly politicians comes as the overall cryptocurrency market returns after being under pressure for the better part of the year. Renewed hope of the US SEC approving a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has fuelled a buying spree in the crypto market. Bitcoin has already powered and found support above the $40,000 a coin level, on hopes of a Bitcoin ETF that would attract institutional investors into the sector.
