A bull market for PACs<\/h2>\n
If art reflects culture, what does crypto\u2019s parabolic political spend say?<\/p>\n
Ripple Labs and a16z released<\/a> dueling announcements<\/a> this week stating they\u2019d each given $25 million to crypto PACs, including this season\u2019s biggest, Fairshake.<\/p>\n Based on data compiled from FEC.gov \u2014 which doesn\u2019t yet include Ripple and a16z\u2019s contributions \u2014 that would bring the total crypto PAC contributions to $117 million this election season.<\/p>\n Affiliated PACs Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress have otherwise received about $5 million each.\u00a0<\/p>\n All that is nearly double what crypto PACs raised throughout 2021 leading up to the midterms, when crypto markets were red hot and former FTX execs Sam Bankman-Fried and Ryan Salame were at their busiest.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The pro-crypto PACs from last cycle are dormant, replaced by Fairshake<\/em><\/p>\n Crypto PACs tend to work strategically in key battleground states. The general idea is to get either pro-crypto candidates elected or, at a minimum, replace anti-crypto incumbents.<\/p>\n The committees generally use contributed funds for supportive voter research, consultation and election ad campaigns.<\/p>\n In Fairshake\u2019s case, it has backed<\/a> a roughly equal number of Republicans and Democrats so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n It has however directed almost all of its independent expenditures to date ($10 million out of $11.3 million) on ads opposed<\/a> to California Democratic Senate candidate Katie Porter, who\u2019s very much aligned with industry villain Elizabeth Warren on all things anti-crypto.<\/p>\n Porter lost her bid for the empty Senate seat in March and called<\/a> the outcome \u201crigged,\u201d apparently in response to Fairshake\u2019s antagonistic ads.<\/p>\n As for who\u2019s bankrolling this season\u2019s crypto PACs the most \u2014 Coinbase and Ripple by far.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both companies have now given more than Sam Bankman-Fried and Ryan Salame ever did to distinctly pro-crypto political action committees. (Although, SBF actually sent much more<\/a> to political causes operating outside of the crypto space, as well as through other channels.)\u00a0<\/p>\n A16z partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have also stepped up, together giving $24 million in late 2023.<\/p>\n Crypto in politics is awkward after the whole FTX thing. Luckily, there\u2019s enough dollars flowing into these PACs to slowly wash that funk away.<\/p>\n \u2014 David Canellis<\/em><\/p>\n No, really, we are. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told me Thursday at Consensus in Austin, TX.\u00a0<\/p>\n I asked him what he thought about former President Donald Trump<\/a> turning his support for crypto to which he said he was \u201chappy\u201d about it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a good thing for our country. Commitment to crypto is a commitment to freedom and transparency. I\u2019m not going to question if it was a political decision, I\u2019m happy he did it and I hope President Biden does too,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n But crypto isn\u2019t the only thing the two candidates see eye to eye on. Kennedy added that he also agreed with Trump\u2019s pledge that he\u2019d commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht if elected, noting that he\u2019s also talked about that. Though, at a later point in the press conference, Kennedy said he\u2019d need to review the case before deciding whether to issue a pardon.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a small room above the hustle and bustle of the main event, Kennedy spoke about bitcoin, ETH ETFs<\/a> and even fielded a question on whether he\u2019d consider himself a conservative. (He said no, he thinks he\u2019s not \u201cright or left,\u201d but rather, \u201cmy positions are common sense.\u201d)<\/p>\n My colleague, Eleanor Terrett of Fox News, even asked if he believed he was an ape after buying up 24,000 shares of GameStop to which he replied, \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n Anyway, to focus specifically on crypto: Kennedy revealed he recently bought 21 bitcoin (three for each of his children).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBitcoin is the way to save the dollar,\u201d he said in response to a question about bitcoin as a possible national security threat.<\/p>\n When it comes to our current regulatory environment, which is not very friendly toward crypto (to put it lightly), Kennedy said the US needs transactional freedom.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need sovereignty over our own wallets, transactional freedom and a currency that is transparent. We need to make sure America remains the hub of blockchain technology. I\u2019m going to make sure cryptocurrency is regulated in a way that protects the consumer from deceptive schemes,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n And the presidential candidate repeated (he initially announced this in April<\/a>) that he wants to put the federal budget on the blockchain, but that\u2019s not the only use case for him. He thinks it can make the country more decentralized and encourage both entrepreneurship and innovation in the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 Katherine Ross<\/em><\/p>\n Q: Is PolitiFi a joke or a real indicator of sentiment?<\/p>\n Overintellectualizing memecoins<\/a> has got to stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, I wouldn\u2019t treat political memecoin price action as a thermometer for voter sentiment. What it does reflect is that Trump memes are just funnier.\u00a0<\/p>\n Say what you will about the comedic nuances of Biden trying to leave a stage or form complete sentences. Trump is a natural showman and we\u2019re likely seeing that translated into memecoins in his orbit.<\/p>\n \u2014 David Canellis<\/em><\/p>\n Can I take both for $500, Alex?<\/p>\n No, but really, this is a tough one. I stand by that it\u2019s a mixture of both. For example, after the Trump verdict news broke yesterday, we saw the MAGA memecoin drop (it\u2019s up this morning). And the Trump coins are a bit of a mixed bag as of Friday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n It gets murky, however, because people might flock to them because <\/em>of the implied humor in a memecoin, so maybe stick to the polls if you want to really understand public sentiment.<\/p>\n \u2014 Katherine Ross<\/em><\/p>\n Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXeICIudHL-KDdDYs9ryu0LOEuGyTlxdvY59i1mEOJKK1xO_esquG3ZgcydylUNBQaSbgs9wr3-qdWa3YEJve21cjQMNq1hN7oLObluchMm4V3_8NpDLKpb1wC7ZRD6KkACeP1OFfiUo4X2XWQFqoqipQ5w?key=nVK2QrL8e-T3NU4ReEOESg\")
Data Center<\/h2>\n
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We\u2019re all in this together\u00a0<\/h2>\n
The Works<\/h2>\n
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The Morning Riff<\/h2>\n
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