Thoughts tagged "crypto lobby"

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90% of crypto's Illinois primary spending failed to achieve its objective

The cryptocurrency industry super PACs dumped $14.2 million into the Illinois primaries. 90% of that – $12.8 million – was wasted, in that it went to opposing Democratic candidates who won their primaries (Stratton in the Senate race, Ford in H-07) or supporting their opponents.

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The Fairshake pro-crypto super PAC network spent $10 million to oppose Senate candidate Juliana Stratton and $2.5 million to oppose H-07 candidate La Shawn Ford, both of whom won their primaries

The PACs' only victories in the state were where they contributed money towards outcomes that were already highly likely. They opposed Robert Peters (H-02), who had been polling in third place and ultimately received 12% of the vote. They supported Bean (who was leading the polls in H-08) and incumbent Budzinski (H-13).

Sadly this early spending in Illinois used up less than 6% of what the super PACs have on hand, so buckle up for a looong eight months.

 There are a number of senators who’ve taken a look at this but there seems to be no will to move forward because No. 1, people don’t understand A.I., but because, No. 2, we’ve seen the entry of really big political money tied to A.I. Just like the crypto space, a lot of senators are scared to stick their neck out even though action is being demanded of us on this issue.

Fascinating comment on AI regulation from Elissa Slotkin of all people, who received $10 million — the second-most support — from crypto PACs in 2024.

“The Future We Feared Is Already Here”.
Ezra Klein in The New York Times.
The showdown between the Pentagon and Anthropic is a window into how unprepared we are for the questions we are facing.

Great background on why Coinbase sank the crypto bill they’d just spent months lobbying for, and the fundamental conflict between the banking lobby and the crypto lobby when it comes to stablecoin interest.

“Monopoly Round-Up: The Slow Death of Banking in America”.
Matt Stoller in BIG by Matt Stoller.
Crypto interests came after the local banker last week in a bitter Congressional fight. They didn't win, but it's not over. Plus, the "Mamdani effect" is real, and Canada aligns with China.

he saw Mamdani talking about housing and thought: but what about crypto?

Headline: New York mayor candidate Cuomo pledges crypto innovation with new role

my guess is this is more of a hail mary attempt to get blockchain/AI money and influence behind him. we haven't seen much crypto industry spending in races below the federal level, but i also wouldn't put it past them to get involved here at the last minute

Trump speaking to crypto executives while signing the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill: “I got you guys out of so much trouble... They’ve got plenty of cash, and it’s great that you’re on our side.”

Note: I retained Trump’s comments about Biden to avoid taking his statement out of context, but his claim that Biden “dropped all charges” against crypto executives during his (or Harris’s) campaign is false.

GENIUS Act stablecoin bill stalls in the Senate

The GENIUS Act stablecoin bill has stalled in the Senate with key Democrats — including some of its early co-sponsors — voting against it. Democratic opposition increased after Trump’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency platform released its own stablecoin, allowing the president to profit from transactions including a $2 billion deal between the Emirati state-owned investment firm and the Binance crypto platform.

Senators who voted against the bill include Ruben Gallego (AZ), Mark Warner (VA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE), Andy Kim (NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), and Angela Alsobrooks (MD). Gallego was one of the top recipients of crypto industry campaign funds in 2024, receiving $10 million in crypto super PAC backing.

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