'Make Bitcoin Great Again' hats on sale at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, USA on Saturday, July 27, 2024 Through large donations to political action committees, the sector will become the 2024 president. Emerging as a powerful player in elections.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
As the 2024 election draws to a close, a major pro-crypto super PAC is funneling the bulk of its final donations to close out the House races as part of an effort to push candidates favorable to the group's agenda to the top. is.
FairShake is one of the top spending companies in any industry this election cycle, spending nearly $29 million in September, according to Federal Election Commission data released to the public on Sunday. Donated. Of that amount, $20 million was donated to two affiliated PACs. $15 million went to Defend American Jobs PAC, a single-issue committee focused on crypto and blockchain policy that favors Republicans, and $5 million went to Protect Progress, which has supported only Democrats.
The remaining $8.8 million spent by FairShake last month was mostly spent on House races in New York, Nevada and California, according to FEC data compiled by crypto market and blockchain analyst James Delmore and verified by CNBC. It is said that it was used.
Some of these races are considered toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. Among the winners were Southern California Republicans David G. Valadao and Michael Garcia, who are vying for the seat. They received $1.3 million and $1 million, respectively.
“Fairshake’s donations to candidates in California’s battleground districts are not only critical to electing pro-crypto candidates in potentially swing House seats, but also to many crypto companies. It's also important because it's still in California,” Delmore said. . “California needs all the pro-crypto politicians it can get.”
Additionally, FairShake provided more than $1.9 million to Rep. Patrick Ryan (D-N.Y.), more than $1.7 million to Rep. Stephen Horsford (D-Nev.), and more than $1.7 million to Rep. Angela Dawn Craig (D-N.Y.). He donated nearly $1 million to the state of Minnesota. The remaining cash went to multiple candidates in Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, Iowa and Arkansas.
Of the House donations, $6.2 million went to Democratic candidates and $2.3 million went to Republicans. During the September window, Protect Progress donated more than $10 million each to Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate in Arizona and Michigan.
In the 2024 cycle, political contributions from or in support of the crypto industry amounted to approximately $190 million, including contributions from major companies in the sector. An August report from Public Citizen found that crypto companies accounted for nearly half of corporate donations this election cycle.
Cryptocurrency groups spent more than $130 million on congressional races this year, including primaries, according to FEC data.
Delmore told CNBC that donations to FairShake have been slow in recent months.
The group added about $1.1 million in September, including $800,000 from ConsenSys, a cryptocurrency company that was sued by the SEC in June, and $1,000 from Moonsong Labs CEO Derek. It was from You.
In total, FairShake has raised more than $160 million and spent more than $37 million supporting House candidates and running ads against Democrat Katie Porter, who lost in the California Senate primary. . More than $84 million was transferred to FairShake's affiliate PAC.
clock: Crypto PAC funds support Utah Senate candidate and other candidates across the country
