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Cryptocurrency Super PACs are taking over the 2024 elections
From time to time, we feel compelled to remind everyone of the basic shebeen rule regarding cryptocurrency: when someone comes up to you and says, “Hey, look, I invented new money,” and if you don’t have a bottle of seltzer or cream pie on hand, run like hell. in the other direction. Furthermore, there is an unusually high strange-to-normal ratio among the various pitchers. From NBC4 in Columbus:
Days before Sunday’s ceremony, OSU’s chosen speaker, Chris Pan, announced on LinkedIn that he had taken the psychedelic drug ayahuasca to write his first drafts. “This week I received help from AI (Ayahuasca Intelligence) to write my keynote speech for 60,000 graduates and family members at The Ohio State University next Sunday,” Pan wrote. “I tried ChatGPT but it wasn’t that good.” The resulting speech and an onstage demonstration featuring OSU President Ted Carter drew audible boos from the audience on the university’s live stream, as Pan sought to encourage graduates and attendees to buy cryptocurrency. “Saving is not enough because inflation exploded after the pandemic, which is why everything has become so expensive… I see Bitcoin as a very misunderstood asset class,” Pan said. “It is decentralized and limited, meaning no government can print more of it at will.”
Maybe Mr. Pan didn’t throw a tantrum when he gave the speech, but you can’t tell from that string of words pretending to be a sentence at the end. Also, I’m not really sure why Mr. Pan didn’t go for gold and saw poor Ted Carter in half. All that was missing from the whole scene was the medicine cart and a dancing bear.
For a while, it seemed like cryptocurrencies had evaporated. The SEC was everywhere. Congress, led by Senator Professor Warren, was questioning his good faith. It is now clear, however, that the industry is counting on the 2024 elections to regain its momentum and to make new and influential friends. As a Public Citizen:
According to data from Opensecrets.org, cryptocurrency industry-backed super PACs have raised more than $102 million, the third-most among all super PACs campaigning in the 2024 elections. Only the super PAC supporting Ron’s failed presidential campaign DeSantis and the super PAC supporting Democratic Senate candidates have raised the most money so far. More than half of cryptocurrency super PACs’ political warfare funds – about $54 million – come from direct corporate spending, primarily Coinbase and Ripple Labs, demonstrating that the industry is taking full advantage of the unlimited corporate political spending enabled by Citizens United.
The rest of the cryptocurrency super PACs’ political war chest comes from billionaire executives and venture capitalists, including $11 million each from the founders of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from the Winklevoss twins, and $1 million from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Of the six 2024 primary races in which crypto super PACs entered and have now concluded, only one crypto-backed candidate lost. Eleven primary races remain that include cryptocurrency-backed candidates. Crypto super PACs have pledged to participate in the general Senate elections in the states of Ohio and Montana, considered essential to securing a Senate majority. Incumbent Democrats of both races have been critical of the cryptocurrency industry.
One of the two Republicans campaigning to challenge Senator Professor Warren this November is a cryptocurrency advocate (and advocate). called John Deaton. From WGBH:
Foreshadowing a potential election theme, her 2023 post about challenging Warren came in response to comments she made about cryptocurrency regulation and how she views the technology as a threat. Deaton said at the time she was “not suggesting” that he would win one of hers, but that he “would want to confront her.”
Deaton will undoubtedly benefit from that war chest that cryptocurrencies have amassed, not a single dollar other than good old American greenbacks. That’s irony for you.
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Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has worked as a journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.