As a researcher who has been following political funding trends for years, I am both intrigued and slightly amused by the growing influence of the cryptocurrency industry in this year’s U.S. presidential election. The sheer volume of contributions from prominent figures in the crypto space to the Trump 47 PAC is staggering, especially considering the relatively nascent stage of digital currencies.
A Political Action Committee known as “Trump 47” has garnered approximately $7.5 million through digital currencies, with the intention of funding Donald Trump’s bid for the United States presidency.
Between July and September, it was reported in a filing with the Federal Election Commission on October 15th, that the PAC accepted cryptocurrency donations such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Tether, and USD Coin.
Significant contributions were made by influential individuals within the cryptocurrency sector. A total of 18 contributors donated approximately 5.5 million dollars in Bitcoin, whereas 7 contributors collectively donated around 1.5 million dollars in Ether.
Significant contributions were made by various sources, such as David Bailey, CEO of BTC media group, who donated $498,000; Stuart Alderoty, Ripple‘s legal chief, who contributed $300,000 in XRP; and the Winklevoss twins, co-founders of the crypto exchange Gemini, each contributing $1.1 million.
As a researcher, I’ve come across an interesting piece of information: Chase Herro, one of the co-founders of the Trump family’s cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial, and Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, have shown their backing for a Political Action Committee (PAC) by contributing close to $100,000 in Bitcoin.
Additionally, the political action committee “Right For America” has caught the interest of the cryptocurrency community. Notably, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, co-founders of a16z, have each contributed $2.5 million. Simultaneously, Chris Larsen, a co-founder of Ripple, donated one million XRP to the pro-Harris PAC “Future Forward.
In the current political landscape, the cryptocurrency sector has significantly increased its influence on campaign financing. During this electoral cycle, contributions have amounted to approximately 13 times as much as they did during the previous presidential election. It’s worth noting that around half of all corporate funds raised for elections originate from within the crypto industry.
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2024-10-17 10:44