- Crypto groups mount pressure on US presidential candidates in a level that has never been witnessed before.
- Former president Donald Trump gives a thumb up for crypto as he softens his stance to win the support of enthusiasts.
Crypto takes center stage in the US election as various presidential candidates declare their position in a bid to appeal to majority of the voters. Recently, the Biden administration declared in a statement that they would veto any legislation that allows banks to take custody of crypto.
Contrary to his stance, former US president Donald Trump disclosed at his NFT event that he is “for crypto”. To cement his position, he has declared his willingness to accept campaign donations in digital assets as reported by Crypto News Flash.
Interestingly, Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr has also declared his intention to put the entire US budget on the blockchain.
Amid the backdrop of this, the crypto fraternity is bent on supporting crypto-friendly candidates with crypto-focused political action committees (PACs) like Fairshake raising $85 million from crypto companies, executives and retail investors to push this cause. This was witnessed in the $10 million spent to squash the bid of crypto-critical Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-Calif.).
It is also important to note that Fairshake has invested a substantial amount into two affiliated PACs namely Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress. These two donated to the Republican candidates and the Democrats respectively.
Recently, Defend American Jobs spent almost $500,000 on media buys for Republican Mark Messmer. For Protect Progress, some of its crypto-friendly Democratic candidates including Shomari Figures (running for a House seat in Alabama) and Julie Johnson in Texas won their primaries with the support of the media buy.
Crypto Community Weighs Option for a Crypto-friendly Candidate
According to Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, the involvement of the crypto groups is at a level that has never been seen in previous election cycles. One interesting observation is that some skeptics who are up for election this year have taken a more open-minded stance toward the industry. Commenting on this, Kyle Bligen, director of financial policy at the tech-focused Chamber of Progress disclosed that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) who is up for re-election this year changed his stance to avoid facing well-funded opposition efforts from the industry.
With all of this happening, a poll conducted by crypto investment firm Paradigm discloses that crypto-holding voters tend to prefer Donald Trump for president. According to Polymarket bettors, Trump (47%) has a slight edge over Biden (44%) to win the election. On the impact of Biden’s re-election, Smith believes that the harsh action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would be the same unless the chair, Gary Gensler, steps aside. However, Bligen disagrees and claims there would be more hope for crypto-friendly regulations when Biden stays in power.
I can’t say that if President Biden is reelected that’s a loss for cryptocurrency advocates, because currently in this regime Democrats and Republicans are working together on a bipartisan basis to produce productive and responsible cryptocurrency [legislation].
While the attention seems to be intensified on the national election, Lee Bratcher, founder and president of the Texas Blockchain Council, and Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of Satoshi Action Fund are more concerned about state politics. Porter’s group has helped the introduction of bills in 16 U.S. states to ensure enough protection for Bitcoin mining and self-custody.
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