The crypto industry plowed tens of millions into the election. Now, it’s looking for a return on that investment
CNN
The cryptocurrency industry’s leading super PACs plowed $131 million into congressional races in this cycle to help elect dozens of pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress, while individual billionaires with crypto interests spent millions to help return Donald Trump to the White House.
The cryptocurrency industry’s leading super PACs plowed $131 million into congressional races this election cycle to help elect dozens of pro-crypto lawmakers, while individual billionaires with crypto interests spent millions to help return Donald Trump to the White House. Now, they are determined to change how Washington treats their business. Goals include ensuring Trump selects a crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission chair to replace Gary Gensler, whose aggressive enforcement actions during the Biden administration enraged cryptocurrency CEOs. Industry groups are also lobbying Congress to pass a regulatory framework that they say is needed to pull crypto into the mainstream of the US financial system. The industry could be well-positioned heading into the new session of Congress. A tracker run by a group called Stand with Crypto said 274 pro-crypto candidates had been elected to the House and 20 to the Senate this cycle. Crypto super PACs spent heavily on Republicans as well as key Democrats, including two who won open seats in the US Senate, Elissa Slotkin in Michigan and Ruben Gallego in Arizona. Crypto’s bipartisan political clout signals a remarkable rebound from just two years ago when the industry was reeling from the sudden implosion of the troubled FTX crypto exchange. In its aftermath, lawmakers scrambled to rid themselves of campaign donations from the firm’s leader, Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now serving a 25-year prison term for defrauding customers and investors. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, climbed to record highs after Trump’s win, in anticipation of more pro-crypto policies from his administration.
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