Consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen has released a report detailing how money from cryptocurrency firms may influence the 2024 elections in the United States.
In an Aug. 21 report, Public Citizen said crypto firms in 2024 had used roughly $119 million to influence federal elections, mainly through contributions to super political action committees (PACs) like Fairshake. According to the advocacy group, roughly 48% of the $248 million of corporate funds used toward US elections in 2024 came from crypto backers — primarily Coinbase and Ripple.
Notably, according to Public Citizen’s research into Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, contributions from crypto firms far exceeded those from the influential Koch Industries. The firm has been responsible for donating to many right-wing politicians at the direction of CEO Charles Koch and formerly his late brother David Koch.
Source: Rick Claypool
According to Public Citizen, roughly $108 million of funding into Fairshake came “directly from corporations that stand to profit from the PAC’s efforts,” including Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
Though a judge ruled on penalties in August against Ripple in its case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Coinbase is still embroiled in legal proceedings with the regulator.
“Fairshake’s corporate backing is unprecedented,” said Public Citizen. “Though unlimited corporate contributions have been enabled since 2010 by Citizens United, this newcomer is already second only to the super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the US Senate in terms of corporate money received.”
Winning strategy?
Funding from Fairshake or its affiliates, the Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress PACs, may have already influenced significant primaries in the US ahead of the general election in November. According to Public Citizen, candidates won 36 out of 42 races involving crypto super PAC money in attack ads against “anti-crypto” candidates or media buys supporting “pro-crypto” ones.
Related: Arizona crypto PAC-backed candidate ekes out narrow victory after recount
Control of the US Senate, House of Representatives and the presidency is up for grabs in the 2024 election, with polls suggesting that either chamber and the executive branch could swing for Democrats or Republicans. The races, expected to be exceptionally close in many cases, mean that money from outside interest groups could sway undecided voters.
“The even partisan split in both houses of Congress means the crypto sector’s outsized influence in competitive races has the potential to tip control of Congress one way or the other,” said Public Citizen.
“No industry has ever before has [sic] so wholeheartedly embraced raising as much directly from corporations and openly using that political war chest as a looming threat (or reward) to discipline lawmakers toward adopting an industry’s preferred policies.”
Reports suggested that the US Senate races in Montana and Ohio could be some of the next proving grounds for crypto super PACs. Democrats have a majority in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris providing a tie-breaking vote when needed, but seats in Ohio and Montana may be vulnerable in 2024.
Fairshake planned to spend $12 million to support Republican Bernie Moreno over incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in the Ohio Senate race. Montana Senator and Democrat Jon Tester is also up for reelection in Montana, where the crypto super PAC said it planned to dip into its war chest.
Cointelegraph contacted a Fairshake spokesperson, who declined to comment on the report.
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