Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced that it has donated $25 million to the crypto-focused super PAC Fairshake as part of its increased lobbying efforts ahead of the November elections in the United States.
In a blog post on June 3, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that this latest donation brings the total amount raised by Fairshake and its affiliates to $160 million for this election cycle. Ripple and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz also made similar donations last week.
Armstrong emphasized the importance of sending a clear message to political candidates that being anti-crypto is bad politics. He called for support of pro-crypto candidates from both sides of the political spectrum and the removal of anti-crypto candidates from office.
Coinbase is willing to engage with its critics, but Armstrong stated that the company no longer feels the need to financially support them. Instead, Coinbase will focus on working towards removing candidates who are against cryptocurrencies from office.
Fairshake, with its $160 million funding, is one of the leading super PACs in the country, according to analysis by OpenSecrets. Although it cannot directly donate funds to political candidates, it can spend an unlimited amount of money to support them in other ways.
Data from OpenSecrets shows that Fairshake’s biggest expenditure this election cycle is $10 million on lobbying against Democrats, out of the total $40 million it has spent. Earlier this year, Fairshake funded attack ads against California Representative Katie Porter, who lost in a primary race for the Senate in March.
Coinbase’s donation comes ahead of the November 5 elections, where the presidency, all 435 House seats, and 34 out of 100 Senate seats are being contested. Currently, the Republicans hold a majority in the House, while the Democrats control the Senate. However, a report by Public Citizen in May highlighted the crypto sector’s significant influence in key races, stating that it has the potential to tip control of Congress towards one party or the other.
Despite recent felony convictions, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump remains the favorite in the polls, ahead of incumbent Joe Biden by 1 percentage point according to a June 3 survey by FiveThirtyEight.
The crypto industry’s influence has caused a sudden rift among Democrats in the months leading up to the election.