The crypto industry has broken all records in lobbying in 2024 when newly elected President Donald Trump secured a second term to return to the White House.
Across the U.S., in key swing states, the money from crypto lobbyists has made an impact. One of the biggest victories came in Ohio, where Republican Bernie Moreno ousted Democrat Sherrod Brown at a cost of $40 million for crypto lobbyists.
Brown, a crypto skeptic, was also the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Moreno’s victory removes a significant crypto obstacle in Washington.
Kristin Smith, executive director of the U.S. industry group Blockchain Association, expressed a positive sentiment regarding the elections when she said that 2024 marked a turning point for the industry in Washington.
According to the lobbying tracking site FollowtheCrypto.com, the crypto industry spent over $133 million on elections. By comparison, in 2020, during the last election cycle, the crypto lobby spent less than $3 million.
Tyler Adams, co-founder and CEO of the Web3 software development community COZ, said that part of the reason for the increase in funding is the growth of the industry.
– The crypto industry has experienced significant financial growth over the last decade, and the push for lobbying in 2024 is partially driven by record-level resources now available to major players in the sector – Adams said.
Still, Adams and others said that the growth of the industry is just one of many factors that have allowed the crypto industry to flex its newly acquired political muscles.
Increased awareness
Another reason for the record lobbying was that the public and political classes are now more aware of cryptocurrencies, making political engagement more important and necessary.
Debra Nita, director at the crypto PR firm YAP Global, said that this cycle has witnessed a significant appetite for crypto among presidential candidates such as Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
This is something Nita has observed firsthand. In February, she organized interviews for then U.S. presidential candidate Kennedy and also led his press conference at ETHDenver, billed as the largest crypto event in the U.S.
Nita also organized media events for other political candidates during the campaign, including newly elected Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno.
Nita said that the overall strategy is not necessarily to reach voters with pro-crypto messages, but simply to get pro-crypto candidates into office so they can advocate for pro-crypto laws. She added that the industry is now playing a game in a system that requires lobbying efforts to be taken seriously.
Which jurisdiction does crypto belong to?
Vincent Wang, CFO of the private AI training platform FLock.io, said that the reason lobbyists are spending more than in previous years is that they want to end the eternal territorial wars being waged between different government agencies.
Specifically, Wang said that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are ‘competing for jurisdiction’ over the industry.
Inter-agency competition for primacy has rarely yielded good results for the industry.
Wang said that major crypto players now want to put an end to ongoing territorial disputes by advocating for legislation that provides more certainty, favors the industry, and protects their specific interests.
Repairing the damaged image of cryptocurrencies
A major issue for the industry is public perception following the collapse of FTX. In this sense, political lobbying can be a form of damage control, keeping political figures on the side before they attempt to opportunistically ride the wave of discontent.
Erik LaPaglia, chief strategy officer of the blockchain-based real estate platform Propy, is one of those who acknowledges the need to repair the image of cryptocurrencies.
– With public perception shaped by past market disruptions, industry leaders recognize the importance of proactive representation to restore trust and clarify the potential of the sector – LaPaglia said.
– The collapse of FTX cemented negative assumptions about cryptocurrencies for many lawmakers, making it difficult to build bipartisan support – Adams stated, adding that this event severely impacted the industry’s reputation.
Hope for the future
With the U.S. elections over, there is fresh hope that the future of crypto will be bright.
With Donald Trump’s big promises and a multitude of future elected congress members sympathetic to the industry, there is potential for positive action and regulation that is favorable to crypto.
