Cryptocurrency firms and their allies have emerged as the vanguard of political spending for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, spearheading a record-breaking $1.5 billion influx from top donors.
What Happened: The shift in campaign finance signals a new era where digital asset companies are aggressively vying for political influence that could reshape the regulatory landscape.
Leading the charge is Timothy Mellon, a reclusive railroad magnate and heir to the Mellon banking fortune, who has contributed an eye-watering $165 million.
The bulk of his donations, $125 million, went to Make America Great Again Inc., a super PAC supporting Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Hot on Mellon's heels is Coinbase Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN), the cryptocurrency exchange giant, which has invested $91.1 million in the political arena.
The company directed $86 million to Fairshake, a pro-crypto super PAC, clearly signaling the digital asset industry's intent to shape its regulatory future.
Also Read: Bitcoin ETFs Surge Past $18B In Net Inflows, Ethereum ETFs Have Bled $478M: What Is Going On?
Kenneth Griffin, the billionaire hedge fund manager and CEO of Citadel, has poured $75.7 million into various Republican causes, including $15 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund supporting GOP House candidates.
The crypto industry's political ambitions are further evidenced by other significant players.
Fintech firm Ripple Labs (CRYPTO: XRP) has invested $49 million in various political causes, while AH Capital Management, a venture capital firm with substantial crypto interests led by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has contributed $48.5 million.
On the Democratic side, former New York City mayor and media mogul Michael Bloomberg has donated $41 million, primarily to support Kamala Harris's presidential campaign and Democratic congressional candidates.
The scale of these contributions suggests a calculated effort to influence the regulatory framework that will shape the future of digital assets in America.
What's Next: The upcoming Benzinga Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19 is set to become a critical forum for dissecting these trends, with industry leaders and policymakers expected to debate the long-term consequences of this newfound political clout.
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加密貨幣公司及其盟友已成爲2024年美國總統大選政治支出的先鋒，率先從主要捐助者那裏湧入了創紀錄的15億美元。
發生了什麼：競選財務的轉變預示着一個新時代，數字資產公司正在積極爭奪可能重塑監管格局的政治影響力。
領導者是蒂莫西·梅隆，他是一位隱居的鐵路巨頭，也是梅隆銀行財富的繼承人，他捐款了令人眼花繚亂的1.65億美元。
他的大部分捐款，即1.25億美元，捐給了支持唐納德·特朗普總統競選的超級PAC 「讓美國再次偉大公司」。
緊隨梅隆大學的是加密貨幣交易所巨頭Coinbase Inc.（納斯達克股票代碼：COIN），該公司已在政治舞臺上投資了9,110萬美元。
該公司向支持加密的超級PAC Fairshake投入了8600萬美元，這清楚地表明瞭數字資產行業塑造其監管未來的意圖。
另請閱讀：比特幣ETF的淨流入量飆升至180億美元以上，以太幣ETF流失了4.78億美元：發生了什麼？
億萬富翁對沖基金經理兼Citadel首席執行官肯尼思·格里芬已向共和黨的各種事業注資7,570萬美元，其中包括向支持共和黨衆議院候選人的國會領導基金注資1500萬美元。
其他重要參與者進一步證明了加密行業的政治野心。
金融科技公司瑞波實驗室（加密貨幣：XRP）已向各種政治事業投資了4900萬美元，而由馬克·安德森和本·霍洛維茨領導的擁有大量加密利益的風險投資公司AH Capital Management已出資4,850萬美元。
在民主黨方面，前紐約市市長兼媒體大亨邁克爾·布隆伯格捐贈了4,100萬美元，主要用於支持卡馬拉·賀錦麗的總統競選和民主黨國會候選人。
這些捐款的規模表明，有人精心策劃地努力影響監管框架，這將塑造美國數字資產的未來。
下一步是什麼：即將於11月19日舉行的Benzinga數字資產未來活動將成爲剖析這些趨勢的重要論壇，預計行業領導者和決策者將就這種新出現的政治影響力的長期後果進行辯論。
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