This year, the crypto industry has spent more than $119 million to impact U.S. elections and and create more favorable political conditions for pro-crypto policies, according to a recent study from Public Citizen.
America’s largest registered crypto exchange, Coinbase, poured more than $50 million into influencing key races and funding pro-crypto political action committees (PACs) this election cycle.
“The biggest of the Big Crypto corporate money donors are Coinbase and Ripple, which together have dumped about $99 million into buying influence over the 2024 elections,” said Rick Claypool, a research director at Public Citizen.
Additionally, San Francisco-headquartered crypto firm Ripple has given $49 million to crypto PACs in the hopes of bringing about pro-crypto regulation. "I think as an industry, especially for us companies based in the U.S., we’re frustrated with how far the U.S. is lagging on setting rules," Ripple President Monica Long told Reuters recently. "This whole dynamic of setting rules through enforcement ... is really unproductive and not getting us anywhere."
After the landmark 2010 Citizens United decision, independent political spending on elections has mushroomed, and special interest groups – particularly pro-crypto groups – have taken advantage of super PACs in the hopes of helping elect pro-industry candidates. According to the D.C.-based watchdog group Open Secrets, independent spending on elections has grown significantly, in 2010 jumping to $4.5 billion from $750 million. This year alone, super PACs have collected over $102 million to support the crypto industry.
“Money moves the needle,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told Axios . “For better or worse, that’s how our system works.”