Written by Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The cryptocurrency industry, a new financial powerhouse in the 2024 U.S. election cycle, is polling congressional candidates on their views on digital assets, as the movement's political arm gains tens of thousands of additional followers and adds to its war chest.
The poll, conducted by Stand With Crypto Alliance, an advocacy group aimed at organizing voters who own cryptocurrencies and influence public opinion, is a way for an emerging industry like cryptocurrencies to engage in political activism rather than commercial organizations, said the survey. Olivia Buckley From OpenSecrets, a research group that tracks money in American politics.
Ultimately, candidates who answer the survey in ways that the industry considers positive may receive support from groups that want to promote crypto-friendly candidates.
Buckley said pro-crypto nonprofits have emerged in greater numbers over the past few years.
“Cryptocurrency regulation at the federal level remains highly contested and ambiguous, so knowing which candidates can garner support from the industry could be indicative of what comes next in Congress,” she added.
More than a dozen candidates have already filled out the survey, including those from California, Alabama, Texas, Indiana and Maryland, according to Stand With Crypto, though the group declined to provide names.
The group told Reuters that it plans to publish the survey to include candidates for the 468 congressional seats in the elections scheduled for November.
“Cryptocurrency advocates and the crypto community need to understand where policymakers, elected officials, and candidates in federal races stand on this issue,” said Nick Carr, chief strategist at Stand With Crypto.
The poll, seen by Reuters, asks questions such as whether the candidate believes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will play a major role in technological innovation, and whether the candidate believes it is important for the United States to modernize the regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.
He also questions whether the candidate will vote in favor of certain legislation, such as the bill introduced in the House of Representatives last year that would create a regulatory framework for digital assets.
Stand With Crypto's membership count rose to 370,000 as of Wednesday, up from 315,000 ahead of the Super Tuesday contests on March 5, according to its website. The group was launched in part by Coinbase, an online platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
Pro-crypto candidates are already receiving support from three new major political action committees — Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress — which have allocated millions of dollars to Super Tuesday races.
Collectively, the three super PACs spent more than $21 million in independent expenditures this election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons and Jamie Freed)
