US Crypto Campaign Funding Groups Raise $102m

Political groups backed by the cryptocurrency industry have raised more than $102 million (£82m) to spend on backing crypto-friendly candidates in this year’s US elections, making them the third-biggest funding group, according to a report by Public Citizen citing data from Opensecrets.org.

The only two super PACs to have raised more money so far are one backing Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential campaign and one backing Democratic Senate candidates, Public Citizen found.

The funds have been gathered by Fairshake, a super PAC, meaning it can raise and spend unlimited funds to back candidates of its choice, and its affiliates the Defend American Jobs PAC and Protect Progress PAC.

The intense fundraising activity comes at a critical moment for the crypto industry, which is facing heightened scrutiny from regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following a string of high-profile failures, including that of crypto trading platform FTX, whose former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried was himself a major political donor.

Corporate spending

Four of the eight corporate crypto super PAC donors have settled or are facing charges by the SEC for alleged violations of securities laws, with Ripple Labs alone facing nearly $2bn in potential penalties.

More than half of the super PACs funds, some $54m, come from corporate expenditures, primarily from Coinbase and Ripple Labs, with the rest coming from billionaire executives and venture capitalists.

The founders of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz each donated $11m, the Winklevoss twins donated $5m and Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong donated $1m, Public Citizen said.

Of the six 2024 primary contests that have taken place so far in which crypto super PACs supported candidates, only one candidate backed by crypto groups has lost.

Senate contests

Crypto super PACs have said they are planning to spend to support Senate campaigns in Ohio and Montana, where Democrats Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester are seeking reelection.

Brown and Tester both sit on the Senate Banking Committee and have been critical of cryptocurrencies and particularly their use by groups the US sees as bad actors, such as Hamas or North Korean-backed hackers Lazarus Group.

The US elections in November cover the presidency as well as all lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate.