Crypto companies accounted for nearly half of all corporate donations in the 2024 presidential election, according to a report, and critics have expressed frustration with the industry's growing influence.
A report released Wednesday by nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen found that cryptocurrency companies have donated more than $119 million in political contributions, most of which went to nonpartisan super PACs focused on electing pro-crypto candidates.
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the United States, was the industry's largest donor, contributing $50.5 million to the PAC, according to the report.
Blockchain company Ripple came in a close second with $48 million donated, according to the report.
The two crypto giants under heavy investigation by the SEC donated 80% of the industry's total donations.
Crypto investors are hoping that pro-crypto candidates from all political stripes will take seats in the upcoming election and ease the strict industry regulations in place under President Joe Biden's administration.
Even oil companies and banks, usually the biggest donors in elections, have been outdone by cryptocurrencies this year.
The 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United allowed corporations to donate unlimited amounts to US elections.
“The massive crypto donations used to silence crypto's critics and elevate its supporters epitomize everything that was wrong with the Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United decision,” Rick Claypool, director of research at Public Citizen and author of the report, told CNBC.
Cryptocurrencies account for 15% of all publicly disclosed donations since 2010, even though the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was created just the year before.
Over 90% of total corporate crypto donations were made during this election cycle.
Most of the crypto donations were funneled to FairShake, a bipartisan pro-crypto super PAC focused on getting pro-crypto candidates of all stripes elected.
FairShake is one of the PACs that has raised the most money this year, according to the report.
In addition to Coinbase and Ripple's lead donations, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz donated $47 million and Jump Crypto contributed $15 million to the PAC.
Wealthy investors such as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the Winklevoss twins have also donated millions of dollars to the cryptocurrency PAC, according to the report.
FairShake, along with its two affiliated PACs, has raised about $169 million, with more than 90% of its donations coming from large corporations, according to the report.
According to Federal Election Commission filings viewed by CNBC, Fairshake has spent about $75 million in July and still plans to spend about $120 million before the November election.
According to the nonprofit report, pro-crypto PACs have pledged $25 million to 18 House candidates, split evenly between nine Democrats and nine Republicans.
According to the report, the company spent $18 million on three Senate elections.
Pro-cryptocurrency PACs won 36 of the 42 primaries they supported without loudly touting their crypto focus.
Political ads for candidates sponsored by FairShake do not mention cryptocurrency at all, instead, the ads talk about typical political talking points, presumably because cryptocurrency is not a top priority for the average voter.
“The only reason crypto is even a hot topic in this election is because crypto companies are spending incredible amounts of money to become impossible to ignore,” Claypool told CNBC.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have both attempted to position themselves as pro-crypto candidates in order to garner the support of some of the biggest names in the crypto world.
President Trump has reversed his skeptical stance on cryptocurrencies since 2019.
Earlier this year, President Trump launched a non-fungible token collection on the Solana Blockchain, became the first major presidential candidate to accept donations in cryptocurrency and headlined a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Republican candidate said he had raised $25 million in crypto donations as of the end of July.
Most recently, he promoted his family's upcoming cryptocurrency platform, “The DeFiant Ones,” in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency platform shares surged after Trump was shot in an assassination attempt, and cryptocurrency investors appear to have bet on Trump as voters expect this to increase his chances of winning the presidential election.
Bitcoin shares soared again after President Trump spoke at the Bitcoin Conference and promised to make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the planet.”
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said during a virtual town hall titled “Crypto4Harris” that a “sensible” cryptocurrency bill could pass the Senate by the end of the year.
And on Tuesday, Harris' campaign said she would support pro-crypto policies as president.
