KEY POINTS
Coinbase recently contributed $25 million to the crypto-focused super PAC called Fairshake. This was part of its increased lobbying efforts leading up to the upcoming United States elections.
Contributions By Coinbase and Affiliates
In a blog post on June 3, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that their recent donation has pushed the total funds raised by the PAC and its affiliates to $160 million during this election cycle.
Curiously, this sum matches the contributions made by Ripple and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz just last week.
Fairshake ranks among the nation’s most well-funded super PACs, as per OpenSecrets analysis. While it can’t directly contribute funds to political candidates, it has the power to spend an unlimited amount of money to support them through other means.
According to OpenSecrets data, Fairshake’s most significant expense this election cycle amounts to $10 million, directed toward lobbying against Democrats. This constitutes a quarter of the total $40 million it has spent during this cycle.
Crypto Sector’s Significant Impact in Elections
Additionally, earlier this year, Fairshake funded attack ads targeting California Representative Katie Porter, who unfortunately lost in a primary race for the Senate in March. Coinbase made its donation in anticipation of the upcoming U.S. elections on November 5.
In this election, voters will decide the presidency, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 100 seats in the Senate. Currently, the House has a Republican majority, while the Democrats hold control of the Senate.
Interestingly, a May report by Public Citizen highlighted the crypto sector’s huge potential for swaying control of Congress toward one party or the other.
