The U.S. cryptocurrency industry invested over $238 million in the country’s 2024 election cycle, surpassing traditional sectors like oil, pharmaceuticals, and major Wall Street firms.
This marks the first time the digital asset sector has outpaced these established industries in political contributions.
Crypto Donations
According to data compiled by blockchain analytics firm Breadcrumbs and reported by Fox Business, $181 million of the total came through donations to pro-crypto super PACs, with an additional $57 million directed to individual candidates and their supporting committees.
Leading companies such as the Coinbase crypto exchange, blockchain payments firm Ripple, and venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz collectively contributed $160 million to industry-aligned PACs backing candidates supportive of the digital asset industry.
Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris also emerged as major recipients of contributions from the crypto sector. Trump’s campaign has raised more than $22 million from crypto sources, including over $8 million in donations made with digital currencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple’s XRP.
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, a prominent investor in Bitcoin and co-chair of Trump’s presidential transition team, has donated at least $6 million to Trump. If elected, the Republican candidate has publicly vowed to remove Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, whose “regulation by enforcement” approach to digital assets has been heavily criticized.
More Election Donations
On the other hand, Harris has received about $12 million from crypto sector donors, nearly all of which has come from Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen. The contributions have mostly been made in XRP, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency.
Silicon Valley figures have also supported PACs aligned with Harris’s interests; Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, reportedly contributed $250,000 to Future Forward, a leading super PAC supporting Harris, while tech investor Ron Conway contributed $600,000.
The crypto industry has also invested heavily in congressional races, with the likes of Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress raising $170 million. Further, they deployed around $135 million on campaign ads to increase the number of pro-crypto lawmakers in Congress.
Fairshake’s affiliate Defend American Jobs spent $40 million supporting Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, a vocal advocate for cryptocurrency, as he challenges incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown. Fairshake itself previously spent $13 million on ads targeting anti-crypto Democrats in primary races, contributing to the defeats of Representatives Katie Porter, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush.
Some public interest groups have criticized the sector’s involvement in politics, arguing that the high spending gives the crypto industry disproportionate influence on policy decisions.
Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen, called the contributions “a brazen attempt” to sway U.S. democracy in favor of sector-specific interests.
