Rise of Bitcoin Voters

The cryptocurrency sector is continuously trying to pitch new products. This election season has seen the emergence of a new political group, Bitcoin voters, who are said to be keen to endorse everything that supports cryptocurrency.

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform with over 100 million users worldwide, has launched its own voter registration initiative, ranking candidates on their familiarity with crypto issues. The Crypto Council for Innovation, a pro-crypto industry group representing platforms such as Fidelity and Gemini, found that one in seven voters “owns cryptocurrency and is ready to vote for a pro-crypto candidate.” It is said to have released data last Wednesday showing that A small but growing number of political campaigns are beginning to accept Bitcoin donations to prove their expertise in the cryptocurrency space.

All this is done to support the idea that there could one day be a significant number of people who donate and vote for cryptocurrency advocate candidates. To clarify, it’s still early. The looming midterm elections are just an exercise, but the people behind the massive effort to win over crypto voters believe that the ultimate goal is a voting block ready to support the crypto business. He said that it is to create

Nonetheless, it is unclear whether this tactic will necessarily succeed, given that cryptocurrency owners already span a wide range of political ideologies. It also draws attention to the fact that libertarian philosophies may conflict with the idea that major cryptocurrency businesses force users to join the mainstream political system.

According to Virginia Commonwealth University professor David Golvia, who wrote about Bitcoin politics, “As long as such people exist, they’re probably people who are already heavily involved in the cryptocurrency space in some way. ” Ironically, there are so many anti-government and anti-democratic perspectives in the region.

Who are Crypto Voters?

The individuals in charge of this campaign have some idea of ​​who these potential crypto voters are. are more likely to use virtual currency. Black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans are slightly more likely to use cryptocurrencies than white Americans, with men about 14% more likely than women. Some strategists are unsure whether the mere use of cryptocurrencies will make anyone want to vote pro-cryptocurrency, but enough individuals own cryptocurrencies and are involved in the movement to some extent. It claims that it can give political power to Currently, about 16% of US adults have used cryptocurrency at least once.

The moment the candidate started polling on Web3 to see how many people were using it, Kathryn Haun, a well-known Democratic political consultant and now former partner of Andreessen and Horowitz Chris Lehane, who works for Haun Ventures when it was founded, said: It’s a way to accelerate policy progress in Web3. We just haven’t seen a cohort of this size come out of politics.

Cryptocurrency is now no more a partisan issue than important issues like abortion, climate change and gun control. The party is represented by the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, a group of lawmakers studying the technology.Equal proportions of Democrats and Republicans, according to a Morning Consult poll released late last year. are in favor of less control over cryptocurrencies, and a study commissioned by a cryptocurrency advocate shows similar results.

A recent Morning Consult study commissioned by Haun Ventures found that “Web3 voters” in New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania tended to lean slightly more Democratic, while voters in swing states were more likely to identify the ideology behind Web3. It turns out that there is a high possibility that it supports the See technologies like cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Also announced this month was a study by GMI PAC, a super PAC backed by a number of cryptocurrency-focused venture capital and investment firms, as well as a hedge fund run by Anthony Scaramucci, a minor figure in the Trump administration. , the fact that many voters are currently actively using cryptocurrencies or want to use them.

The business is worth tens of billions of dollars, according to Stephen Diehl, a prominent cryptocurrency opponent and co-founder of the Center for Emerging Technology Policy. “Their attempt to win voters is a fairly natural extension.”

Crypto companies continue to call on people to support crypto-friendly candidates, even though they don’t seem to fit well with any political party. Coinbase built a “legislative action site” within the app after announcing a voter registration campaign last summer. The portal ranks politicians according to their support for cryptocurrencies using information collected on their official statements, legislative history, and whether they accept donations for cryptocurrency campaigns. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s approval ratings, for example, are skewed against New York State Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in his favor.

Miti Sathe, who oversees community engagement at Coinbase and was previously involved in the Obama campaign, said: The process is not just for October and election years, [in] Off year March. We continue to get excited about crypto-related concerns for the community because that’s what the community is telling us.

While Sate expects crypto policy to become a high-profile topic and see more authorities take public positions, many of the politicians currently included in the Coinbase system are , not evaluated at all. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the app could eventually help politicians solicit donations and expand into elections outside the United States. In the meantime, the app directs Coinbase users to the website and sends form emails urging politicians to support a “pro-crypto policy.” However, Armstrong banned internal political discussions after employee conversations about racial justice and the death of George Floyd in 2020, saying the company would not be allowed to participate in “causes” unrelated to its core activities. I will focus lightly on the

crypto donation

Beyond personal interactions with people, some pro-crypto politicians are moving towards accepting Bitcoin donations. There is little difference between someone who transfers the campaign’s cryptocurrency and converts it into dollars that can be easily spent later, and someone who converts the cryptocurrency themselves before making a donation. However, there are already many places where politicians can accept cryptocurrencies, such as Coinbase, BitPay, and a company called Engage Raise, which specializes in politics. At Engage Raise, he has 16 candidates signed up to accept donations in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. Other politicians actively promote cryptocurrencies on campaign websites.

I got mixed results. According to Engage Raise CEO Martin Dobelle, from 10 to 100 people “probably half” donate cryptocurrency to the organization. According to BitPay CEO Bill Silke, the site has processed “more than 500 cryptocurrency donations” this year. Blake Masters, a Trump-backed Arizona Senator Republican venture entrepreneur, raised $500,000 at the same time by auctioning 99 NFT copies of a book he co-authored with Republican contributor Peter Thiel. Procured more. social event.

This figure doesn’t include all donations made in the third quarter of 2022, but Federal Election Commission data shows that between the beginning of 2021 and the end of this year: The campaign revealed at least 350 receipts for Bitcoin transactions. That said, in an election year, a single campaign could process many times more traditional cash receipts than cryptocurrency payments. The FEC data focused on just a few races, including the Masters, Senator Ron Wyden, and an Oregon Democratic candidate named Matt West. The FEC allows donations in cryptocurrency, but also has guidelines on how to disclose donations.

According to Sarah Bryner, head of research and strategy at OpenSecrets, “States are developing guidance on this, but it’s too early.” I think they are a little hesitant to do so.

However, the greatest impact of cryptocurrencies on politics has yet to emerge with Bitcoin or Ethereum. Everything revolves around the US dollar. Blockchain Association, Web3 Forward, and Crypto Innovation are just a few of the Pro-Crypto Political Action Committees (PACs) that have provided funding to support Pro-Crypto politicians from both parties. Think tanks and lobbying firms have already flocked to the Beltway to influence how lawmakers draft future cryptocurrency bills. Sam Bankman-Fried, wealthy creator and CEO of cryptocurrency platform FTX, is one of his most important personal funders this election cycle, spending up to $1 billion on the 2024 elections but he has recently scaled back his estimates.

Still, it’s just one small part of a larger move to integrate cryptocurrencies into institutional politics, but campaign organizers are optimistic that cryptocurrency owners will be a key force in future elections. While the idea is undoubtedly exciting for crypto entrepreneurs, some are already concerned about the potential impact of an influential crypto voting base.

“You walk up to someone and ask, ‘Who are you voting for?’ Willamette University Professor Rohan Gray Advised Rep. Rashida Taraibe on Stablecoin Regulation. “Voting on a single agenda on cryptocurrencies is particularly harmful to democracy, as a significant percentage of candidates either do not truly trust the electoral process or have overtly fascist aims. .”

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