Even if you don’t know a blockchain from a NFT, these numbers are hard to dismiss: More than $200 million from cryptocurrency companies is expected to be pumped into the 2024 election cycle as the tech industry works overtime to boost its political influence.
And the emerging tech giants aren’t selectively backing Republicans or Democrats -any candidate, from president all the way down to small congressional districts, who champions crypto puts themselves in a position to score the big bucks.
But will the political plays by so-called ‘Big Crypto’ pay off in the long run?
Crypto, which includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and more, is a form of digital currency that can be used to make ‘decentralized’ transactions online without oversight by a bank or government.
The industry is keen on having a less-regulated playing field to serve as a sandbox for development of crypto. Opponents and monetary traditionalists, meanwhile, want additional regulations on the alternative, digital currencies.
Fairshake, a political action committee (PAC), and others pushing pro-crypto legislation are going big with nearly $119 million already spent out of $200 million raised.
And billionaire former President Donald Trump weighing in on the importance of the alternative financial industry as he campaigns for a White House return shows that it isn’t going away anytime soon.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks at the Detroit Economic Club on October 10, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. ‘I think crypto has got a great future,’ he said at a fundraiser recently
Trump has promised to make America the ‘crypto capital of the planet’, while Kamala Harris has vowed to ‘encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets’.
Crypto, however, is not an issue that has broad appeal – let alone understanding -among Americans and did not register among voters’ top issues in recent polls from both Gallup and Pew.
Further, a survey involving swing-state voters earlier this year found that 69 percent of Americans have a negative view of the technology.
And a 2023 survey from the Federal Reserve found that only 7 percent of Americans owned any crypto at all.
Wealthy investors are looking to change that with their greatest resource – cash.
‘Crypto companies have been some of the largest corporate election donors in 2024,’ said Christopher Kardatzke, co-founder of Quiver Quantitative, a political money-tracking firm.
‘Some of the largest individual donors are also crypto investors,’ he told DailyMail.com.
Quiver has been tracking the largest political donors this cycle and has seen crypto-boosting venture capitalists like the Winklevoss brothers, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz reach the top of the list.
The ultimate goal is to be able to influence congressional legislation that would allow crypto to continue to grow.
And also turn public sentiment positively toward an industry many Americans still liken to online sports betting.
The non-profit Public Citizen in an August report found that crypto corporations are ‘by far the dominant corporate political spenders in 2024 as nearly half (44%) of all corporate money contributed during this year’s elections ($274 million so far) came from crypto backers.’
By comparison, it’s reported, the conservative-leaning Koch Industries is a ‘distant second place’ pouring $25 million to its Americans for Prosperity Action and $3.25 million toward electing Republicans to Congress.
And, wrote Public Citizen, since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision on campaign financing, crypto corporations ‘are now second in total election-related spending, trailing only fossil fuel corporations.’
Influencing critical Senate and House races
A leader in the push of crypto cash into the 2024 cycle has been cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which pumped $50 million into Fairshake and related entities, according to reports.
So far, Fairshake and its affiliated PACs have focused on pouring cash into dozens of congressional races this year, backing the winner in 36 of the first 42 it entered, Time reported.
And Defend American Jobs, another pro-crypto PAC that has received massive funding from Fairshake, recently pumped more than $40 million into Ohio‘s race for U.S. Senate with a major ad blitz for Republican candidate Bernie Moreno.
The Republican Moreno founded a blockchain-based car title company years back and has been seen as friendly to the industry.
His Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown, is notably chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee and is a close ally of progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who has been vocal about her skepticism of the industry.
The Ohio race for U.S. Senate has gotten much closer in recent weeks and some are pointing to a recent splurge in spending from the crypto industry as a reason for GOP candidate Bernie Moreno’s surge
Brown has held a consistent lead in the polls for months while Moreno has been lagging behind, sometimes by double-digits. That is, until recently after the DAJ ad spend went into action and blasted Moreno’s message all across Ohio.
A new Marist Poll released Thursday shows that the competition has narrowed, putting Moreno two points behind Brown 48 to 50. The Democrat had a five-point lead in a survey published by Marist over the summer.
‘Before our investment, one of the leading anti-crypto Senators was on a path to victory,’ A Defend Americans Jobs spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
‘Now a pro-crypto leader is in a position to win,’ they went on.
A Moreno spokesperson told DailyMail.com: ‘Sherrod Brown is the most anti-crypto senator and has even threatened to ban it all together. The industry knows that Bernie will be an ally for individual freedom and support legislation that allows Americans to freely make their own financial choices.’
‘Unlike Sherrod, who doesn’t know the difference between blockchain and a chainsaw, Bernie has a deep understanding of the technology, what it takes to make certain it develops here in America, and will work to ensure America leads the world.’
Despite Fairshake backing the Republican in Ohio’s race for U.S. Senate, the company is also putting money behind key Democrats.
In Arizona’s race for an open U.S. Senate seat, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is getting the support of the crypto firm in his race against GOP challenger Kari Lake, sources have told DailyMail.com.
Additionally the crypto PAC is lining up behind Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in her quest for Michigan’s open Senate seat.
In Arizona’s race for U.S. Senate Fairshake has given money to Democratic candidate Gallego
U.S. Senate candidates Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., left, and Republican challenger Kari Lake participate in their debate, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Phoenix
Both of the Democrats are receiving less than Moreno, but still got a whopping $10 million each.
A TD Cowen Researcher in October mentioned how Fairshake’s backing Moreno in Ohio could actually cause legislation on the subject to be delayed, much to the chagrin of those eager to form its legislative frameworks.
‘It’s an aggressive strategy for sure,’ Kristen Smith of the Blockchain Association recently told Time.
‘We have got Democrats that are upset. We have Republicans that are upset. But I think it’s really going to come down to whether the right bets were made or not.’
The PAC has split both sides of the aisle in many other races as well in the House, supporting both Democrats and Republicans.
Fairshake – whose candidates are wide ranging and include House Republican Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota and Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Colorado – has declined to endorse presidential candidates.
It also has given money to New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer and North Carolina Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry.
Crypto operatives have reportedly been working to leverage their growing political leverage by passing a bill known as FIT2.
That legislation would put the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in charge of regulating cryptocurrencies as opposed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which blockchain advocates say has been hostile towards the industry under Commissioner Gary Gensler.
The House passed FIT21 in May, but it has yet to be picked up for a vote in the Senate, and time in this Congress is running out.
Crypto and the presidential race
Donald Trump has praised the crypto industry and as a result has bagged massive quantities of Bitcoin related cash to spend on his campaign.
He spoke at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville in July where he said he wanted to make the U.S. the world’s crypto capital.
‘I think crypto has got a great future,’ video shows Trump saying at another recent fundraiser. ‘Maybe we’ll pay off the $35 trillion [national debt] in crypto,’ he said to applause.
Billionaire Tyler Winklevoss announced he would be donating in cryptocurrency and said he would be voting for Trump
His campaign actually received an estimated $2 million campaign donation from the billionaire Winklevoss twins in the form of Bitcoin.
Tyler Winkelvoss, who famously was an accomplice of Mark Zuckerberg in the early days of Facebook, announced the donation on X.
‘I just donated $1 million in bitcoin (15.47 BTC) to [Trump] and will be voting for him in November … The Biden Administration has consistently attacked American business across the board and villainized its greatest heroes.’
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini – run by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss – will return at least $1.1 billion to customers of its defunct lending program and pay a fine of $37 million for unsafe and unsound practices.
The ex-president himself and his family members have dabbled in starting their own digital ventures.
On a livestream Trump announced World Liberty Financial, a crypto group that his family was starting.
‘Crypto is one of those things we have to do,’ Trump said. ‘Whether we like it or not, I have to do it.’
During the announcement he was flanked by his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
Fairshake is a crypto PAC that is donating to pro-crypto lawmakers. They have raised an estimated $200 million
Youngest son Barron reportedly also has an interest in the blockchain technology.
Vice President Harris has not spoken at length about her crypto agenda, but has pledged to ‘encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets.’
Her silence on the matter could could cut either way with Big Crypto as they sniff out whether she will be a genuine partner, adversary or non-combatant.
As for the crypto PACs, they are not done spending yet with just three weeks to go before Election Day.