How Crypto Bought the 2024 Election
If you were shocked by the outcome of the November 2024 elections, you aren’t alone. But regardless of what party won the race for the next president of the United States, crypto played a part in the elections. A rather large part, in fact.
To learn more about who was funded by crypto (and won) in the United States elections, keep reading.
How US Elections Depend on Money
If you aren’t an American, or even if you are, you may not realize that the United States political system runs on cold, hard cash. We aren’t kidding. The more cash you have on hand, the more likely you are to win an election. In fact, most individuals who are running are those who make at least six figures each year.
Although this might not make sense at first glance, when you dig deeper, you realize that the more money a candidate has, the more resources they have—whether they are buying more airtime or putting flyers on more doors. Votes can also be outright bought by donating money to a specific cause or person, with the expectation that they will vote a certain way once elected(even though this is technically illegal, it does happen). The reality is, in the United States, money talks, and everyone else is ignored.
How Crypto Bought the US Election
Now that you realize that the US elections are just a financial game of who can spend the most, we can discuss what crypto companies paid candidates in the election and how most of their candidates won. Let’s start with the facts:
The Facts:
· 1 in 10 of those elected or re-elected to Congress had ads paid for by the crypto industry.
· Fairshake PAC put $139 million toward candidates in the 2024 election.
· Cryptocurrency campaign backers had a 91% success rate when it came to getting their candidates elected.
What does all this mean? Well, in short, it means that cryptocurrency companies bought the election by getting candidates elected whom they knew would push more pro-cryptocurrency laws. Where did this money come from? Well, the three biggest contributors were Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz, collectively these companies (along with Jump Crypto and Gemini) amassed $169 million total to fund candidates in the 2024 election cycle.
Because campaign donations are public record in the United States, it has been revealed that Fairshake PAC had their eye (and money) on 58 pro-crypto candidates this election cycle. Of the 58 they gave money to, 53 of them won their races, which is quite impressive if you ask us.
It is worth noting that you may have voted for one of these candidates without knowing they were pro-crypto. Fairshake did something slightly sneaky this time around, and instead of making cryptocurrency a focus, it supported candidates on both sides (both democrats and republicans) who had other major values, but Fairshake knew would advocate for cryptocurrency once elected. This was smart as most individuals don’t know enough about cryptocurrency to vote on it, but Fairshake still ensured they voted for officials who would.
This feat is also impressive because so few Americans voted in this recent election. There has been a recent trend that Americans who don’t like either candidate don’t vote, and while this is their right, it is also damaging because the US president isn’t the only thing that is voted for on election day.
Rather, most ballots feature candidates for local elections, as well as votes for policy changes—both of which are critical to everyone’s everyday life. In short, if you didn’t vote, boo on you, and be sure to vote the next time around.
What Does Crypto Want With the US Government?
The last few years have been rough on the cryptocurrency industry, especially with so many anti-crypto bills and regulations coming out. Fairshake PAC, when they spent their $139 million, wanted to change the future of crypto. While we can’t say for sure they will be successful, we can say it’s looking good.
Here is what the crypto industry hoped to achieve by backing their candidates:
· More crypto-friendly regulations
· Government pressure on cryptocurrency companies would ease
· Funding would go to expanding research into the cryptocurrency field
· Questions currently prohibiting the growth of crypto would be answered
· Anti-crypto individuals and their influences to be wiped out
We are still surprised by their success at the elections and we hope they are correct and more pro-cryptocurrency legislation is coming soon.
Who Were the Pro-Crypto Candidates?
Honestly, thanks to the 53 pro-crypto candidates added to both Congress and the Senate, there are too many now to truly list them all here. But we can let you know the major battle fronts in this election.
Of the 139 million spent on campaigns, $10 million alone went to a single race in California to try and snuff out Katie Porter’s campaign, as she is closely aligned with anti-crypto Elizabeth Warren. Another $40 million went to a single race in Ohio to help Bernie Moreno (a blockchain entrepreneur) beat Sherrod Brown. That battle was also successful.
After the insane $50 million that went to those two races, the rest seemed to be split relatively equally between the other 56 candidates supported, with each receiving at least $1 million of the remaining $80 million in support.
It’s important for us to emphasize that although crypto-enthusiasts tend to be right-leaning, several individuals in both parties received campaign contributions in exchange for promoting a pro-cryptocurrency stance once elected. In total, Fairshake PAC helped 21 Republicans and 25 Democrats get elected to the House of Representatives, and 4 Republicans and 3 Democrats get elected to the US Senate. Therefore, you may have voted for a crypto-enthusiast and didn’t know it!
Overall, even though it’s a bit sad that an election in the United States can be bought, it is cool to see what can be accomplished when money is funneled to the right candidates for the right reasons. No matter what party you are affiliated with, you should be proud of this recent election—because crypto won.
