Crypto has become one of the most powerful forces in political donations. But will it impact the election?

Despite being created as an economic force that exists outside the political system, cryptocurrency has long had a strange relationship with US elections. Look no further than Mighty Ducks child star-turned-Tether founder Brock Pierce, who is running for president and Senate in two separate races, or Bitcoin expert Bruce Fenton, who received 4.47% of the Republican primary vote. 2022 New Hampshire Senate seat. But for all its commitment to transparency, crypto’s most influential role in politics has not been the arrogant candidacies of blockchain advocates, but the increasing prevalence of dark money.

Corporations may not get votes, but thanks to the 2020 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, they can spend as much money as they want on races, often through organizations that hide the identities of their donors. Sam Bankman-Fried took full advantage of this by pouring money into races through individual donations and Super PACs that do not hide their benefactors; but he later admitted to possibly giving tens of millions of dollars to Republican candidates through dark money channels. (The Justice Department unfortunately dropped campaign finance charges against Bankman-Fried.)

With Bankman-Fried out of the picture this election cycle, the rest of the industry has sprung into action. A new report by consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen details the scope of crypto industry donations and finds that Super PACs tied to digital assets have already raised more than $102 million for the 2024 elections (third of all Super PACs). half comes directly from corporate spending, primarily from Coinbase and Ripple Labs.

It should come as no surprise that the crypto industry has come into force. In 2020 and even 2022, crypto hadn’t exactly become a partisan issue, as lawmakers were working on a series of bills that would impose regulation on the industry. FTX’s collapse just before the 2022 election destroyed all momentum; While many Democrats woke up to the consumer threats posed by the frenetic industry, Republicans were outraged by the heavy-handed approach of SEC chairman Gary Gensler and his perceived handler, the Senator. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

Most crypto Super PAC donations are flowing into House and Senate primaries, a Public Citizen report details; This includes an eye-popping $10 million paid against Democratic Senate candidate Katie Porter in California, who lost in March and blamed an “attack by billionaires.” (A spokesperson for one of the crypto super PACs thanked him for his credit.) Some donations, including from crypto favorite Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Y.), support Democratic candidates, but so far most of the money has favored Republicans. Super PACs have big While the impact is clear, Public Citizen makes clear that uncountable dark money is also likely playing a role, according to campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets, and this election cycle is on track to surpass previous elections in terms of dark money.

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The question is whether crypto contributions will have an impact. “Money moves the needle,” Coinbase CEO and top donor Brian Armstrong said during a panel discussion last September. And he may be right, both in terms of the industry’s recognition by Washington’s power brokers and in terms of influencing elections. According to Public Citizen, of the six completed primary races in which crypto super PACS intervened, only one crypto candidate lost. Another crypto candidate, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), won yesterday, and there are ten more primary races coming up.

The biggest test will be the race for the Ohio Senate seat, where blockchain opponent and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown is up for re-election against Republican Bernie Moreno, a pro-cryptocurrency candidate. The last poll in March showed Brown with a slight advantage, even though the race had just begun. Brown and crypto skeptic Sen., Coinbase’s head of US policy, said in an interview with the New York Times. “I wouldn’t say they have a target on their back,” he said, referring to Jon Tester (D-Mont.). “What I will say is, I think there is an opportunity.”

Leo Schwartz
[email protected]
@leomschwartz

This story first appeared on Fortune.com