How the Crypto Industry’s Political Spending Is Paying Off

At the end of three hours hearing Last month, Senator Robin Galigo, Democrat Arizona, stood with a group of Republicans in a strongly disputed discussion. He voted for progress in the genius law, a draft law supported by the coded currency industry.

“It is clear that the digital assets are present to remain,” Mr. Galigo He said After the Senate Banking Committee. To the best Democrats in the committee, the draft law described a “step in the right direction.”

The vote, from 18 to 6, was only primarily, as a draft law was submitting approval from the full Senate. But in the world of encryption, it was celebrated as a moment of justification.

Mr. Gallego is part of an increasingly influential group in Congress: beneficiaries of the transparent industry. During a narrow Senate race last year, an hour at $ 10 million of Super Pacs is funded by three large encryption companies, including the exchange of Coinbase. Ads of money that promoted Mr. Galigo military service Support Border enforcement.

Now he and dozens of other legislators support him are SUPER PACS take steps in Congress to enhance encryption priorities, and receive a series of long -awaited victories to an industry with a wide history of fraud and volatility.

In the Senate, these legislators threw support behind the genius law, which would pave the way for companies to issue StablecoinsDigital currency designed to keep the price of $ 1. In both of them RoomsThey voted to cancel the base of the Biden era required Curd companies to report some tax information to internal revenue service.

Spending the industry on millions of dollars to influence Congress is hardly unusual. But the Crypto political machine has emerged on the scale of its spending – and the speed of the results.

The industry has responded to the elaboration. Josh Flaasto, a spokesman for Virchki, a super PAC who worked with two PACS to support pro -Congress candidates. “This is a change in the sea in terms of how Congress approaches this industry.”

The encryption legislation is progressing just as the American organizers have fought an enforcement campaign for years. Since the opening of President Trump, it has the Securities and Stock Exchange Committee Decline Claims against major encryption companies such as Coinbase and Kraken, and raising a legal cloud on the industry. Investor in Crypto himself, Mr. Trump signed an executive order last month calling for Creation From a national encryption reserve – a government stock that contains Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Stablecoin’s legislation is preparing for Mr. Trump’s commercial interests. At the Checks Conference in March, it is He said Stablecoins will “expand the dominance of the US dollar” and call for “proper race” legislation. After a few days, World Liberty Financial, the encryption company that helped his family start, Declare It will start selling Stablecoin called USD1.

The Stablecoin Bill can go to the Senate Hall to vote in the coming weeks – to warn some Democrats who argue that Congress gives industry and Mr. Trump exactly what they want.

Actor Maxine Waters in California, the Democratic Representative of the Financial Services Committee in the House of Representatives, said the encryption industry “spent a lot of money, and many of our members are beneficiaries.” “Maybe many of them may not take time to study what we really do.”

Mr. Gallego was not a sponsor of the Genius law, and he said he required his seizure. (The full name is to guide and create the national innovation of the American Stablecoins Law.) But it also defended the draft law, saying that it includes protection for consumers.

“Senator Galigo believes that it is important to have a seat on the table and work with colleagues on both sides,” Jack Bette, his spokesman, said in a statement. “Senator’s priority is still a guarantee of appropriate handrails.”

In an interview, Senator Kirsten Gilbrand, a democratic in New York, who was a participant in the genius law, said the encryption spending has no effect on legislation.

“If you make your decisions about what you are based on who gives you the most money, you will fail as a member of Congress,” said Ms. Gilbrand, who was not funded by Crypto Super Pacs.

During the Biden administration, the industry rented expensive pressure groups to pay for federal legislation, without getting a lot of progress. The campaign was 2024 turning points.

A group of executives for encryption and political strategists Versaki and two PACS Super were formedDefending American jobs and protecting progress, which has spent more than $ 130 million to influence narrow congressional races throughout the country. The spending is mostly funded by Coinbase, Rigense Currency Business Ripple and Andressen Horowitz, which funded more than 100 encryption companies.

Super PACS 53 candidates from 58 races. In Ohio, the defense of US jobs spent $ 40 million to support Bernie Moreno, a Republican encryption man who canceled Senator Sherwood Brown, the Democratic President of the Banking Committee and an explicit encoding critic. Protect Progress spent $ 10 million to help Elissa Slotkin, a democracy, to win the Senate seat in Michigan. And reinforced 10 million dollars from Super Pacs, Mr. Gallego, who spoke Positively About encryption in the past.

Since then, the industry has begun to convert these electoral victories into legislation. Executive officials of companies such as Coinbase, Ripple and Binance, which is a giant exchange of that Stable criminal charges With the United States government in 2023, it descended to Washington, where it meets the legislators and imagines photographs of the steps of the Capitol in the United States.

Their priority is the draft law that sets the rules of Stablecoins. The second is the legislation of the “market structure” that would ensure that most cryptocurrencies are not subject to implementation by the Supreme Education Council, which conducted a campaign during the years of Biden.

Several laws supported by Crypto Super Pacs are placed to enhance these goals. Mr. Moreno, Mr. Galigo and Senator Jim Banks, a Republican in Indiana, was supported by PACS, working on the Senate Banking Committee. Mr. Gallego is also the highest democratic in a new sub -committee for the Senate Dedicated To encryption.

The draft code of the encryption market structure is still in business. But a group of Senate members, including Senator Tim Scott, Republican in South Carolina, who heads the Banking Committee, submitted the genius law in February.

In some respects, the companies that export Stablecoins are similar to banks. Metal currencies are supposed to be supported by the origins that the source maintains in the reserve: if a company sells one million stablecoins, it must have a million dollars in a base in a place so that customers can recover coins at any time.

But over the years, the encryption companies have been examined for their failure to maintain sufficient reserves. At the same time, Stablecoins has become a useful tool for criminals looking to transfer money across the border.

In theory, the genius law addresses these problems by identifying the rules of Stablecoin. But in February, consumer groups allied The name The draft law “List of the Wishes of the encryption industry, not a suitable regulatory system.” They argued that the invoice requirements were very loose and would create great risks to customers.

Even some encryption fans have expressed reservations. A clause in the genius law will allow external companies to circumvent some of their requirements.

When the draft law was submitted by the Senate Banking Committee, four Democrats voted unlike Mr. Galigo, none of them received support from Virchki, along with Mr. Moreno, Mr. Banks and 11 Republicans that were not supported by the blades.

A similar bill, stable action, was foot In the House of Representatives last month, the Democrats prompted the fears that the new rules could benefit Mr. Trump’s work for encryption.

“The President of the United States of America should not use the strength of the office to create a work that enriches himself,” said Ms. Watermes.

But after a marathon hearing on April 3, the Financial Services Committee voted in the House of Representatives 32 to 17 Let’s transfer the bill to the full room.

The president of that committee is the French representation, Hill, Republican in Arkansas-a long-standing encryption, sponsorship of the stablecoin bill and beneficiary From $ 100,000 in spending by Virchki.