Crypto cash is flooding the 2024 election. Here’s who’s benefiting.

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Posted on 10/18/2024 6:56:06 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

A new political network funded by the cryptocurrency industry has spent more than $134 million trying to elect dozens of allies to Congress, mounting an unprecedented political effort to influence voters and secure favorable regulation.

The spending comes from an organization called Fairshake, along with two other affiliated crypto-funded groups, known as super PACs, which by law can spend unlimited sums in politics. Since January 2023, they have blitzed television and radio airwaves with ads involving 67 candidates, many of whom support crypto interests, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from AdImpact, a monitoring firm.

None of the ads viewed by The Post actually mention crypto, but Fairshake and its partners have a clear agenda: They hope to fill the halls of Congress with lawmakers who can help ward off stringent federal rules at a time when Washington is just beginning to explore new regulation of the industry.

In a handful of races, Fairshake and its partners — Defend American Jobs, which supports Republicans, and Protect Progress, which backs Democrats — account for a majority of political ad spending, The Post found, studying the period between Jan. 1, 2023, and Oct. 10 of this year.

The super PACs are backed by Coinbase and Ripple, two companies that have faced federal scrutiny — and potential penalties — over their business practices. Their ad blitz underscores the industry’s rapid political ascendancy, which has already helped to defeat potential crypto skeptics — including California Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat who vied for a Senate seat.

“They are attempting to buy policy, and they are implementing a strategy they think can do it using the elections,” said Rick Claypool, research director for Public Citizen, a campaign finance watchdog.

Asked about the spending, Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Fairshake, said in a statement...

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...

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