Stand With Crypto Sets Up Election War Chest, Backs Candidates Seeking Open Seats

Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto is launching its own Political Action Committee ahead of this year’s elections.

The group’s own members will support the PAC, but their contributions will be limited to $5,000.

Stand With Crypto, the fast-growing organization of cryptocurrency supporters, is getting into campaign finance with the launch of its own political action committee (PAC) that will donate directly to endorsed congressional candidates, Chief Strategist Nick Carr said. The inaugural endorsement list will include five candidates seeking open seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, but the money will have to wait. Stand With Crypto’s effort is an “associated PAC,” meaning it is supported by the nonprofit group’s own members and will be limited to contributions of $5,000 each. Once they begin adding cash to the PAC coffers, the committee can begin donating directly to candidates facing the final months of the primaries and the big race of the general election in November, the group said Friday.

“I think it’s incredible to see the amount of growth Stand With Crypto has seen in such a short period of time,” Carr said in an interview with CoinDesk. It is reported that more than 443,000 people have now signed the organization, which started in August 2023. Separate from the PAC, the organization says it has raised more than $86 million to conduct advocacy operations that include supporter events, town hall meetings and a presidential candidate forum.

Although it was billed as a grassroots organization, some of the major donations came from corporate names like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Coinbase founded the group last year.

What distinguishes the new PAC from other prominent crypto campaign finance efforts is that the others are dominated by a handful of large digital asset companies that have donated $10 million or more to Fairshake and affiliated PACs. These organizations target candidates with unlimited indirect support distributed independently of their campaigns. As the political arm of the “social welfare” organization, which is classified as a 501(c)(4), Stand With Crypto PAC will donate directly to candidates and targets “individuals who demonstrate impressive knowledge and commitment,” Carr said. To crypto and blockchain innovation in America.” Amounts will be limited by the restrictions that come with direct donations. Unlike financial support for the organization itself, donating to a PAC will require donors to identify themselves publicly.

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The group has endorsed Democrat Eddy Morales, an Oregon city councilman who will enter a congressional primary there in a few weeks, and said on his campaign website that “artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies are still emerging and allowing people to build.” “It will have wealth, it will own its own data, and it will have a seat at the table in the economy of the future,” he said, adding that he will “focus on creating a regulatory framework that provides clarity to these sectors.” He is also the state’s securities watchdog and is facing June primaries for a House seat in a crowded field It also features running mate Troy Downing, a Republican from Montana.

The group also endorsed three candidates previously favored by other crypto PACs: Alabama Democrat Shomari Figures; Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who won his party’s primary this week to take his Senate seat; and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice are seeking the Senate seat left vacant by outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.). Carr said endorsements will continue with future elections and that the organization currently has several incumbent candidates from which to choose. Because it allows members of Congress to be rated on their crypto-friendliness.