Crypto PACs Pump $13 Million Into Super Tuesday Races
Cryptocurrencies are contributing millions to digital asset-friendly candidates in the 2024 election.
That includes donations to candidates in Super Tuesday primary contests in Texas, California and Alabama, Reuters reported Sunday (March 3).
According to that report, a group of new super PACs (political action committees) known as Fairshake, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs have a spent at least $13 million on Tuesday’s (March 5) races, with backing from funds from Coinbase and the Winklevoss twins.
“The crypto community is playing politics to win,” said Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto. “We will have influence and impact in races behind candidates who align with our agenda and our vision.”
The three super PACs raised close to $102 million between January 2023 and January 2024, the report said, citing data from the Federal Election Commission.
According to the report, data from the group OpenSecrets shows that the crypto sector — including its employees and PACs — has contributed about $59.2 million toward the 2024 election cycle, compared to $26.8 million during the 2022 midterm cycle and $1.6 million during the 2020 election.
Among the targets in the upcoming election is U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, a progressive Democrat seeking to become California’s new senator. Fairshake, the report said, has spent more than $10 million on things like a statewide ad campaign to convince Californians not to vote for Porter, who has criticized the industry in the past.
“Californians aren’t fooled: Shadowy crypto billionaires don’t want a strong voice for consumers in the Senate,” Porter wrote on X last month. “They fear people who call out corporate greed, so they’re spending millions on dishonest dark-money ads against me.”
The lobbying efforts come amid a surge in the price of cryptocurrency following a monthslong downturn marked by the collapse of several major players and a crackdown by regulators.
Last week the price of bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, rose above $60,000 thanks to investor optimism. That was the highest the coin had gone in more than two years, coming amid a year that has already seen the price of bitcoin leap around 45%.
That rally has happened due in part to the launch of bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. Bitcoin hasn’t traded at $60,000 since November 2021, the same month it achieved a record high of $69,000.
