Though reporting varies and may still come in after all the elections are called, many experts said crypto interest groups and political action committees (PACs) spent more than $100 million through campaign contributions and media buys supporting or opposing political candidates in the United States — a strategy that is unlikely to change after 2024.
As of Nov. 7, more than 200 candidates running for the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House who had expressed support for digital assets and blockchain had won their respective 2024 races. Among some of the biggest wins crypto leaders claimed would be good for the industry included Republican Donald Trump for US President and Bernie Moreno for one of Ohio’s Senate seats.
“The Ohio race was actually incredibly impactful and really proved just how powerful the crypto lobby is now,” Exodus chief legal officer Veronica McGregor told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Hundreds of millions of dollars poured into these races with a pretty large amount of success […] This is a net win for the industry, for sure.”
Crypto companies already bracing for 2026 midterms
Even before Election Day on Nov. 5, however, industry players seemed to be looking at how to further influence US lawmakers and candidates for future races. Before an Oct. 30 earnings call, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the crypto exchange had contributed another $25 million to the Fairshake PAC, one of the biggest spenders in the 2024 elections.
Coinbase and payments firm Ripple Labs sent more than $90 million combined to Fairshake and its affiliates Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress for the 2024 races. The PAC has claimed it will help candidates on both sides of the aisle who support pro-crypto regulation and policies — a strategy that lost Fairshake at least one major Democratic donor in August.
“The amount of money spent by the crypto industry this cycle is unprecedented, and sets a terrifying example of influence-peddling that must not be replicated,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the progressive advocacy group Public Citizen. “The sheer volume spent, and its effectiveness, teaches other corporate actors exactly the wrong lesson. We cannot sit idly by and wait for other industries to use the same playbook to buy future elections.”
Related: US lawmaker claims crypto PACs forced out ’important voices in Congress’
Though some political initiatives supported by the industry, like Stand With Crypto, claim their goals are purely to help elect pro-crypto lawmakers and not be partisan, it’s clear that Republicans may have benefitted the most in the 2024 elections. The party picked up two seats to win majority control of the Senate, will likely install Donald Trump as US President, and could potentially keep control of the House.
“[…] You’ve got to be very careful of the Democrats if Trump’s pro-crypto,” Trump’s former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said in a Nov. 5 interview with Saxo. “There could be lots of Democrats that are against it just because Trump is for it.”
‘Regulation by enforcement’ changing under pro-crypto lawmakers?
Among the priorities shared by many crypto users and industry leaders included removing Gary Gensler, claiming he has adopted an inconsistent and seemingly impossible-to-comply approach to regulation as head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Since Gensler was appointed SEC chair in 2021, the regulator has filed multiple lawsuits against crypto firms, including Binance, Ripple, and Coinbase.
“The crypto industry has been subject to slander and a narrative that has been unfairly negative,” Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty told Cointelegraph. “[…] I don’t see that the industry had any choice but to show up, and show up in a very big way, to correct course on all of that. And it worked, and there’s no reason that one should think that it should stop.”
Alderoty added:
“Investing in the election process in 2024, the industry did so a big and notable way, and I think the return on that investment has proven worthwhile given the results of the election.”
Trump’s second term as US President will end in 2029, but House members who assume office in January and some Senators will be up for reelection in 2026. Whether crypto companies and executives will be more inclined to funnel money into candidates at that time remains to be seen.
Magazine: Crypto voters are already disrupting the 2024 election — and it’s set to continue