The cryptocurrency industry reached a new milestone in 2024, spending $119 million to influence the US congressional elections. The figure, described as ‘unprecedented’ by watchdog organisation Public Citizen, represents almost half of all ‘corporate’ contributions this year. Since the landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2010, which allows companies to fund independent groups supporting candidates or causes without limit, the crypto-industry has steadily increased its political influence.
According to Public Citizen's analysis, this rise in power has put the crypto-industry just behind fossil fuels in terms of political spending since 2010. "This tsunami of crypto corporate cash is a bold and unprecedented attempt by for-profit companies to put their private priorities ahead of the public interest," the organisation denounced in its report.
Most of the funds come from super PACs, political action committees capable of raising unlimited amounts of money, whose contributors must be declared to the Federal Electoral Commission. Nearly $114 million has been allocated to the Fairshake super PAC, which is mainly funded by Coinbase and Ripple. Public Citizen pointed out that out of 42 primary campaigns funded by these pro-crypto super PACs, 36 saw the backed candidates win.
The influence of the crypto-industry is not limited to financial contributions. Leading political figures such as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have shown signs of opening up to the industry. Trump, at a recent Bitcoin conference, told an enthusiastic crowd, "The rules will be written by people who love your industry, not by people who hate it." Kamala Harris, meanwhile, pointed to a possible ‘readjustment’ in Democratic policy towards cryptocurrency, following scrutiny of the current regulators appointed by Joe Biden.
In addition to super PACs, Public Citizen has drawn attention to the use of ‘dark money groups’, groups that are not required to disclose their donors, to fund campaigns against crypto-sceptic senators such as Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown. This dark money strategy adds to the pressure on lawmakers to adopt crypto-friendly policies, marking another step in the crypto industry's growing influence on the US political scene.
