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Crypto industry lobbying will pay off in US elections, says Ripple president
By Elizabeth Howcroft and Hannah Lang
AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The chairwoman of U.S. cryptocurrency firm Ripple is “optimistic” that a lobbying push by the cryptocurrency industry will deliver results in this year’s U.S. election, after her firm helped the industry to conduct record fundraising to support politicians. candidates who are crypto-friendly. San Francisco-based Ripple is the second-largest donor to Fairshake, a so-called super PAC, which has raised $92.9 million in an attempt to influence November’s congressional elections in favor of the cryptocurrency industry, according to OpenSecrets , a research group. that tracks influence in politics. According to data from Public Citizen, cryptocurrency industry-backed super PACs have raised more than $102 million so far this cycle, the third-most among all super PACs campaigning in the 2024 elections.
Independent political action committees known as super PACs can raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to openly advocate for or against political candidates.
Speaking at the Money20/20 fintech conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday, Ripple President Monica Long told Reuters that the PAC is bipartisan and has a single goal: to support candidates who support regulations desired by the cryptocurrency industry.
“I think as an industry, especially for us as U.S.-based companies, we are frustrated with the U.S. delay in setting the rules,” he said. “This whole dynamic of establishing rules through enforcement… is really unproductive and gets us nowhere.”
Asked if she was optimistic that the voice of the US cryptocurrency industry will be heard, Long responded: “I’m optimistic, yes. I’m confident.”
The cryptocurrency industry is increasingly trying to influence US lawmakers as it faces increasing scrutiny from regulators and politicians, especially since the failures of major cryptocurrency companies in 2022 have spooked investors, they put exposed fraud and misconduct and left millions of cryptocurrency investors out of pocket.
Several leading cryptocurrency companies have been sued by the US securities regulator for alleged securities law violations, including Ripple. In July a federal judge ruled that Ripple’s sale of its token, XRP, to sophisticated buyers amounted to illegal sales of unregistered securities, but also ruled that XRP sold on public exchanges did not meet the legal definition of a security.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking fines and penalties totaling $2 billion in its lawsuit against the company, Ripple said.
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Crypto groups are pushing for lawmakers to pass a bill that would reduce the SEC’s oversight of the industry. A report from Public Citizen states that about half of the cryptocurrency industry’s political spoils come from direct corporate spending, mostly from cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Ripple, while the rest is contributed by venture capitalists. Industry data, however, suggests that lobbyists may face difficulty gaining support. A survey by US cryptocurrency firm Digital Currency Group published in May found that only 14% of voters in US states whose results could swing their cryptocurrency Democratic or Republican, and 69% of them feel negative towards cryptocurrencies, compared to 31% who feel positive. “While the majority of voters are dissatisfied with the current financial system, only a minority think cryptocurrencies are the future of transactions, or a new way to thrive,” the report states. US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, last week vetoed what he described as a Republican-led resolution that would “inappropriately limit the SEC’s ability to establish appropriate barriers and address future matters” related to crypto assets. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has previously called the cryptocurrency industry a “Wild West,” full of fraud and risks for investors.
Ripple’s Long said the SEC appears to be on a “war path” with the cryptocurrency industry in recent years and that everyone is hoping for a “change in tone.”
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in Amsterdam and Hannah Lang in New York Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Matthew Lewis)