Three top executives from leading cryptocurrency mining companies in the United States have come together to establish a nonprofit organization focused on educating voters about Bitcoin (
BTC
).
Jayson Browder, the senior vice president of government affairs at Marathon Digital Holdings, along with executives from Riot Platforms and CleanSpark, have joined forces to form the board of the Bitcoin Voter Project. The group has been officially registered as a 501(c)(4) organization in the United States.
Unlike political action committees (PACs), organizations under the 501(c)(4) category are not allowed to primarily endorse specific candidates or political parties. The launch of the voting project took place shortly after representatives from Marathon, CleanSpark, TeraWulf, and Riot met with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who expressed his desire for all remaining Bitcoin mining to be conducted within the United States.
Browder mentioned that the Bitcoin Voter Project has been in the works for a while and was planned to be unveiled before the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. He clarified that the meeting with Trump was not coordinated with the launch, emphasizing that the organization is nonpartisan and aims to reach out to voters who may not be familiar with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The ultimate goal is to support lawmakers and policies related to digital assets in Congress.
Although the project is not endorsing specific candidates at this time, Browder revealed that there is approximately $5 million set aside for research and voter education, with the intention of mobilizing these voters to back candidates who support digital assets. Unlike Stand With Crypto, a PAC initiated by Coinbase in 2023, the Bitcoin Voter Project’s website does not currently list any particular candidate or crypto-related legislation. Other crypto-focused PACs such as Fairshake have already thrown their support behind political candidates from both parties participating in the 2024 primaries.
Browder highlighted the unique approach of the Bitcoin Voter Project, focusing on identifying potential voters, engaging with them, and educating them. Once these voters are informed and connected with the organization, there may be an opportunity to influence political elections, similar to what Coinbase and other groups are doing.
While it is unlikely that single-issue crypto voters will make up a significant portion of the electorate in 2024, their impact could still be significant due to the winner-take-all system of the Electoral College in many U.S. states. This could potentially sway the outcome of an election by drawing votes away from major party candidates like Trump and President Joe Biden.
Various representatives from crypto advocacy groups, including Perianne Boring of the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Texas Blockchain Council, have shown their support for the Bitcoin Voter Project. The group has already attracted hundreds of sign-ups as of June 14.
President Biden and Trump are scheduled to engage in a debate on June 27, marking their first face-to-face meeting since the 2020 election. Other potential presidential candidates that voters may consider in 2024 include Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Libertarian Chase Oliver.
Magazine:
Crypto voters are already making waves in the 2024 election – and the impact is expected to grow.
Executives in the mining industry create group to impact American cryptocurrency voters