First in The Vault: It’s not just you. The crypto industry’s campaign spending in 2024 really is unlike anything we’ve seen in modern politics, according to a report that will be published later today by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
The report, which you can read here, compares the crypto sector’s spending to previous cycles and other corporate interests. In 2024, no industry comes close to crypto in terms of corporate election spending.
Using campaign finance data compiled by Open Secrets, the Public Citizen report estimates that crypto corporations have spent at least $119 million in the 2024 election through Q2. That’s nearly half of all corporate money spent in this cycle, or 48%, and it doesn’t include millions of dollars donated by individual crypto executives.
This year’s deluge is historic. Crypto companies are now the second largest campaign spending group since 2010, when the Supreme Court removed major restrictions on campaign finance on First Amendment grounds. The non-renewable energy sector still holds on to the No.1 spot by a decent margin.
“Direct corporate election spending at this scale is unprecedented,” the report says.
How unprecedented? After this cycle, crypto companies will account for nearly one out of every six campaign dollars spent by corporations since 2010.
“Crypto corporations’ total spending in the past three election cycles — $129 million — already amounts to 15% of all known corporate contributions” since 2010, the report said. The vast majority of that total, or 92%, is from 2024 alone.
Much of that spending has flown through the Fairshake crypto super PAC network. According to Public Citizen’s analysis, Fairshake has received more corporate funding than any other super PAC since 2010 except for one — the Senate Leadership Fund.
Public Citizen also noted Fairshake’s tendency to spend big in targeted races without ever actually mentioning digital assets. That includes the PAC’s attacks on Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.).
“Rather than criticizing candidates for not sufficiently supporting crypto, both attack campaigns smeared the candidates’ using unflattering claims having nothing to do with crypto policy,” the report said.
The impact: Public Citizens’ report also attempts to map the influence this spending has had over the course of the election. One big development the report nods to is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s embrace of the crypto sector last week.
But the consumer watchdog is also concerned about the broader legacy of this spending blitz.
“If crypto corporations are successful in directly leveraging their financial power into political power, more corporations and business sectors may follow the same playbook,” the report said.
– Brendan Pedersen
