Over 100 Cryptocurrency Companies to Influence Congressional Candidates

Circle, cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken, Crypto.com, and a number of other companies that are members of the Blockchain Association lobbying group have created a special political committee, BA PAC. It will be used to raise funds and finance candidates in the US Congressional elections. In total, the association has more than 100 cryptocurrency market players.

Representatives of cryptocurrency companies want to push the American political community to show more loyalty to the industry. Thus, from January 2021 to July 2022, federal candidates and committees received $ 72.8 million in cryptocurrency. This amount exceeds the $ 70.6 million that came from oil and gas companies, $ 55.4 million from the transportation sector, and $ 25.4 million provided by defense companies during the same period.

According to Blockchain Association Executive Director Christine Smith, the new BA PAC committee will allow the association to leverage the existing connections of about 100 member companies in its fundraising efforts to support the election campaigns of future congressmen. Subsequently, the association’s board of directors will determine the best strategy for distributing the money raised. The committee intends to focus on the next election cycle, including the 2024 presidential election.

At the end of April, the Blockchain Association opposed cryptocurrency sanctions against Russians. Jake Cervinsky, the head of the BBA’s policy department, said that the bills of the US authorities are not directed against Russian oligarchs but against American cryptocurrency companies. On July 21, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) passed a law allowing candidates for state and local elections to receive cryptocurrency donations. Politicians can accept donations in the form of digital assets, provided they immediately convert the funds into dollars.

Last week, U.S. Congressman and well-known cryptocurrency skeptic Brad Sherman said that significant political sponsorship and strong lobbying of cryptocurrencies make it impossible to ban digital assets completely. «We didn’t ban cryptocurrencies at first because we didn’t realize how important it was. We are not banning them now because there is too much money and power behind the regulatory policy ,» the politician said.