(Bloomberg) -- The Blockchain Association, a prominent crypto trade group with members that include stablecoin issuer Circle and exchanges Crypto.com and Kraken, is launching its own political action committee. The move represents another attempt from an industry under pressure to push US politics in a more crypto-friendly direction.
As the sector has grown so to has its political spending, with millions of crypto-backed dollars going into candidate’s coffers ahead of November’s congressional elections. Donors from the industry have given $72.8 million to federal candidates and committees from January 2021 through July, a Bloomberg analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows. That total surpasses the $70.6 million given by the oil and gas industry, the $55.4 million given by the transportation sector and the $25.4 million given by the defense companies over the same period.
“There are a lot of different avenues to being effective in Washington, but relationships are a key part of that,” Kristin Smith, the executive director of the Blockchain Association told Bloomberg in an interview. “Political giving is a key part of relationships.”
Smith said she’s hopeful the new committee, called BA PAC, will be able to parlay the existing relationships of the nearly 100 member companies of the Blockchain Association into its fundraising efforts. Over the next several months, the PAC will be reaching out to those companies to ask for permission to solicit donations from their employees. Then, the PAC board of directors will determine the best strategy for distributing any funds it receives.
Julie Stitzel, vice president of public policy at the Digital Currency Group, is the chairwoman of the PAC board. Directors include: Smith; Jonathan Jachym, global head of policy at Kraken; John McCarthy, general counsel at Wicklow Capital Inc.; Ryan Selkis, founder and CEO of Messari Inc.; and Seth Hertlein, global head of policy at Ledger SAS.
Given that the upcoming midterm elections are just two months away, the PAC is focused on the next cycle, which will include the presidential election, in 2024.
- Read more: Crypto Donors Poured Money Into Politics in May Despite Downturn
BA PAC joins a growing number of committees that include supers PACs backed by some of the industry’s most-influential names, such as Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of crypto trading juggernaut FTX. Bankman-Fried and his co-chief executive Ryan Salame have been the two largest donors from the sector, giving $41.1 million and $18.4 million, respectively.
Bankman-Fried has used a super PAC known as Protect Our Future, which is currently focused on candidates with plans for preparing for the next pandemic, for a big chunk of his spending.
- Read more: Crypto’s Bankman-Fried Gave $16 Million to Super PACs in April
By contrast, the mission of BA PAC will be to “support pro-crypto candidates across the political spectrum,” according to a statement provided to Bloomberg. Smith said the hope is to donate roughly 50% of the committees’ funds to Democrats and 50% to Republicans. The PAC will help bolster the association’s existing advocacy and lobbying efforts in Washington, she said.
Smith herself is an active donor having contributed more than $160,000 this election cycle. That total includes $50,000 given to Republican Congressman Tom Emmer’s joint fundraising committee -- $45,000 of which was distributed to the National Republican Congressional Committee and $5,000 of which went to Emmer’s leadership PAC.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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