Crypto Now Boasts Top Super PAC In U.S. Election, Raises $202 Million
Fairshake, a pro-crypto and blockchain Super PAC, has now outraised all other Super PACs in the United States heading into the 2024 federal elections.
The interest group’s success reflects crypto’s surging role in U.S. politics, which has culminated in vocal support from politicians aiming to protect the industry’s interests.
Fairshake PAC Raises $202 Million
According to political money tracking site Open Secrets, Fairshake has raised $202,939,294 during the 2024 election cycle.
That comprises nearly 10% of the $2.13 billion raised across all 2219 Super Pacs. Coming in at a narrow second is the pro-Donald Trump “Make America Great Again” PAC, amassing $201,076,225.
A PAC, or “political action committee,” is a business, labor union, or interest group that raises money and makes contributions to specific candidates or political parties.
By contrast, a Super PAC makes no direct contributions to parties, but makes independent marketing expenditures to support the election or defeat of certain candidates. Due to their indirect involvement, Super PACs can raise an unlimited amount of funds from any source, as long as they file regular reports about who their donors are.
“Providing blockchain innovators the ability to develop their networks under a clearer regulatory and legal framework is vital if the broader open blockchain economy is to grow to its full potential here in the United States,” reads Fairshake’s website.
Some of Fairshake’s top donors include crypto exchange Coinbase and XRP creator Ripple, each having poured over $45 million into the PAC.
Though it outraised all other groups, Fairshake has only spent $14,426,252 of its total haul. Though technically listed as a non-partisan, the vast majority of those funds ($13.17 million) have been spent “against Democrats,” Open Secrets shows.
Fairshake is affiliated with two other pro-crypto Super PACs that have outspent it so far. Defend American Jobs has spent $15.57 million on pro-crypto Republican candidates, while Protect Progress has spent $13.3 million supporting Dems.
Democrats Turning Away Crypto
Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic Party Presidential nominee, turned down her invitation to the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, according to the conference’s CEO.
Meanwhile, Republican leader Donald Trump and top independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. both appeared, delivering promises to establish Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
The dichotomy between both major parties’ stances invoked a faction of Democratic representatives to break rank, calling on the DNC to pivot to a pro-crypto stance last Friday.
“Crypto and blockchain technologies have an outsized impact in ensuring victories up and down the ballot,” the letter read. “Crypto is at the top of voters’ minds in swing states.”
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