As the 2024 election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump looms, cryptocurrency industry leaders are becoming prominent players in campaign finance.
Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen has emerged as a major donor, directing significant funds to support Harris’s presidential bid. His donations to Future Forward, a super PAC backing Harris, have totaled nearly $10 million in cash, with an additional $1 million in XRP cryptocurrency and over $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund. Altogether, his contributions exceed $11.8 million, making him one of the top crypto industry donors in this election cycle.
Larsen’s financial support for Harris started early, with substantial contributions as far back as February, months before she officially became the Democratic nominee.
His backing is linked to Harris’s engagement with cryptocurrency experts, sparking speculation about her potential approach to crypto regulation, a key issue in the campaign.
In contrast, Trump’s campaign has also seen notable cryptocurrency donations, with roughly $7.5 million flowing into his PAC since June.
While Larsen’s donations may signal support for Harris’s stance on crypto, her campaign has yet to see a corresponding surge in public backing. Betting platforms like Polymarket currently show only 38% of users predicting a Harris victory, suggesting that even large contributions from industry leaders haven’t swayed the odds significantly in her favor.
In this critical election, the growing intersection between politics and cryptocurrency is drawing attention, with both candidates navigating the potential impact of digital currency regulations on their campaigns.
As global sanctions continue to isolate Russia from traditional financial networks, the country’s top financial bodies — the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance — are preparing to launch a government-backed cryptocurrency exchange.
Following the April 14 exploit that disrupted operations, KiloEx has revealed a compensation plan for impacted users. The plan covers three core groups: traders, Hybrid Vault stakers, and VIP users.
Ripple Labs quietly emerged as one of the largest financial backers of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, contributing nearly $5 million just months before federal regulators began softening their stance toward the company.
Amid rising regulatory pressure and political uncertainty in South Korea’s crypto sector, Bithumb is restructuring its business in a strategic move ahead of a planned IPO.