More than 100 crypto companies form a committee to support candidates for the US Congressional elections

What’s new? Circle (the issuer of the USDC stablecoin), cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken, Crypto.com, and more than 100 other companies in the Blockchain Association lobbying group have created a special political committee called the BA PAC. It will be used to fundraise and fund candidates for the US Congressional elections, Bloomberg reports.

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What is known about the association’s plans? Representatives of crypto companies intend to push US politics in a digital asset-friendly direction. Between January 2021 and July 2022, 72,8 million in crypto-backed dollars went to federal candidates and committees. That amount exceeds the $70,6 million from oil and gas companies, the $55,4 million from the transportation sector, and the $25,4 million provided by the defense companies during the same period.

According to Kristin Smith, the executive director of the Blockchain Association, the new committee, BA PAC, will allow the existing relationships of about 100 of the association’s member companies to be used in the fundraising effort. Over the next few months, the committee will ask them for permission to solicit donations from employees, and then the board of directors will determine the best strategy for distributing the funds raised.

The association’s policy committee board of directors includes Kristin Smith; Jonathan Jachym, global head of policy at Kraken; John McCarthy, general counsel at Wicklow Capital, an investment company; Ryan Selkis, founder of the Messari crypto analytics platform; and Seth Hertlein, global head of policy at Ledger, a crypto hardware wallet manufacturer.

The committee intends to focus on the next election cycle, including the 2024 presidential election.

In late April, the Blockchain Association opposed crypto sanctions against the Russians. Policy chief Jake Chervinsky said that the US authorities’ bills are not aimed against Russian oligarchs, but US cryptocurrency companies.

On July 21, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) passed a law allowing candidates in state and local government elections to receive donations in cryptocurrency. Under the new law, politicians can accept donations in the form of digital assets, provided the funds received are immediately converted into dollars. It will take effect 60 days after it is passed.