SALT LAKE CITY — John Curtis, a Republican congressman from Utah, has change into the crypto industry's favorite in his bid to win outgoing Mitt Romney's Senate seat. To get there, he took a somewhat long route through the telecommunications industry.
At an event in Salt Lake City last week, Curtis told a number of dozen crypto enthusiasts that he had a conversation with some House colleagues a number of years ago about web service providers and how one can encourage them to expand their offerings. The various lawmakers suggested different connection speeds — 50 megabits, 100 megabits — but when Curtis asked in the event that they had ever conducted a speed test, he received puzzling answers.
“They looked at me like I was from another planet,” Curtis told the stadium crowd Permissionless Conference.
Curtis, 64, said he realized then that lawmakers needed to be smarter about regulations and really understand the user experience. This is especially true for crypto, he said.
“It's so important to get the government involved because if they don't understand what you're doing, they're going to make really bad decisions,” the Provo-based congressman said as attendees nodded their heads in unison. “The worst thing about regulation is its unpredictability.”
Curtis' stance on crypto is considered one of the foremost reasons digital coin enthusiasts have filled his coffers in his campaign against Democratic candidate Caroline Gleich, setting him up for what appears to be a landslide victory next month.
The Defend American Jobs PAC, a single-issue committee focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain policy, contributed greater than $1.9 million This is based on Federal Election Commission data compiled by crypto market and blockchain analyst James Delmore and reviewed by CNBC. In addition, the PAC has spent greater than $1.5 million to face Curtis's Republican primary opponent, Trent Staggs.
Ben Lucas, Curtis' campaign spokesman, declined an interview on the congressman's behalf. He sent a press release from Corey Newman, the chief of staff, saying: “John has always been a strong supporter of the crypto industry as it will help Utah's economy continue to grow and be a great place for job creation.”
The sprawling and decentralized digital asset industry supports Curtis and others who publicly adopt pro-crypto policies as a part of their campaigns. The crypto industry accounts for nearly half of all corporate donations this election cycle, because the sector outperforms each major banks and the oil sector. Of the 42 major candidates backed by crypto-funded super PACs, 36 were successful.
According to FEC data, crypto groups have spent a complete of over $130 million on congressional campaigns for this yr's election, including the primaries.
Crypto chooses its targets
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz present in its recent State of Crypto report that greater than 40 million Americans own cryptocurrencies, a young and bipartisan group. According to the report, 51% of them said they might likely support crypto-friendly candidates.
Curtis says one of the best thing the industry can do is to police itself after which approach lawmakers with the proper guardrails to realize a balance of safety and security without excessive regulation.
Three crypto PACs primarily backed by CoinbaseRipple and Andreessen Horowitz are targeting competitive Senate and House races across the US
Protect Progress has donated greater than $10 million each to Senate candidates in Arizona and Michigan. In Arizona, the group favors Democrat Ruben Gallego, who’s vying for the seat being vacated by Kyrsten Sinema. In Michigan, the popular selection is Elissa Slotkin, who’s currently a Democratic House member.
Republican candidates in Indiana and West Virginia each received greater than $3 million from Defend American Jobs. In Massachusetts, a brilliant PAC for Republican John Deaton has raised $2.6 million from the crypto industry. However, Deaton is in polls far behind Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who’s considered one of the crypto sector's biggest opponents in Washington.
“Elizabeth Warren is not going to lose her election in Massachusetts, so the industry can’t get rid of Warren,” Delmore said. “But they can at least help vote out candidates who are aligned with her against the crypto industry.”
A giant goal is Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Banking Committee. About $40 million in cryptocurrency funds were used to defeat Brown, and a PAC has funded five ads geared toward raising awareness of his Republican rival Bernie Moreno, a blockchain entrepreneur. The race is currently very close and crucial to deciding which party will control the Senate.
In the House elections, around $3.6 million in crypto PAC money went to candidates in Arizona, $5.4 million in New York, greater than $4.8 million in Virginia, and 5, $7 million in California, with half of that spending going to Republican Michelle Park Steel.
Crypto PAC money was non-partisan and not only concentrated in battleground districts. The focus is on supporting lawmakers who favor regulation that favors the technology slightly than stands in its way.
“When we talk about digital assets, when we talk about crypto, it's not about Republicans and Democrats,” House Majority Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said on Permissionless. “This is about Americans, this is about decentralizing a system that has literally been consolidated at the top.”
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