The cryptocurrency industry spent a lot of money electing pro-crypto candidates during the 2024 campaign cycle — and now it’s ready to reap the rewards.
The industry has stepped up its political involvement in a concerted effort to oust regulators it views as overzealous – sometimes with multiple agencies vying to rein in the industry – and replace them with policymakers more focused on encouraging cryptocurrency development in the US than on curbing crypto development. potential risks.
Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, is now calling on President-elect Donald Trump and the new Republican-controlled Congress to quickly pass a law that designates the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the industry’s top regulator and sets ground rules for crypto companies, Emilie Choi, the company’s president and chief operating officer, told the POLITICO Tech podcast.
Coinbase and venture firm Andreeseen Horowitz were the biggest backers of Fairshake, a pro-crypto super PAC that doled out $173 million during the 2024 election. The group has aggressively spent money to defeat crypto skeptics, including $40 million alone to oust former Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
Coinbase has since funneled another $25 million into Fairshake as the company prepares for 2026.
“To be clear, the message we’re sending here is that we’re just getting started,” Choi said. “We will not rest until 100 percent of Congress understands and is pro-crypto.”
The Biden administration has been critical of the crypto industry, especially in the wake of the collapse of the FTX exchange and the fraud conviction of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, which has led to tense legal battles between the government and players from the industry such as Coinbase.
Now Choi hopes the Trump administration will end “regulation by enforcement” and the “stupid war” between agencies competing to regulate the industry, she said.
Trump himself has turned the issue around. He tweeted during his first term that cryptocurrency was “not money” and that its value was “based on thin air,” but last year his family launched its own token and pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet.” to make.
He has also loaded his incoming administration with crypto enthusiasts. Paul Atkins, a consultant with crypto and financial clients, has been elected chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. And David Sacks, a Silicon Valley investor, will be a key advisor on AI and crypto.
“I would say that a few years ago, if I’m completely honest, I just don’t think we would have acted together as an industry or a company on policy,” Choi said. “We felt like everyone would just figure out that crypto is a force for good.”