Chris Larsen, co-founder and chairman of Ripple, contributed nearly $9.9 million to Future Forward in September, in addition to more than $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund, according to FEC data compiled by the exchange. cryptography Breadcrumbs and blockchain analyst James Delmore and independently. verified by CNBC.
Including Larsen’s contribution in August of $1 million worth of XRP tokensThe billionaire has donated more than $11.8 million to PACs supporting the Harris campaign, making him one of the crypto industry’s largest individual donors this cycle.
Larsen, who has supported candidates from across the aisle in recent years, told CNBC in an interview that his comfort level with Harris comes from conversations he’s had with people within the campaign and what he’s seen from the vice president since she replaced President Joe Biden as president. at the top of the ticket in July.
It helps that Harris is from the Bay Area.
“She knows people who have grown up in the innovation economy their whole lives,” Larsen told CNBC. “So I think she understands on a fundamental level, in a way that I think the Biden people just weren’t paying attention, or maybe they just didn’t do the connection between empowering workers and ensuring that they have American champions dominating their industries.”
Larsen’s affection for the Democratic candidate is not new. In February, he gave the maximum personal contribution of $6,600 to Harris (which would cover the primary and general elections), about five months before she became the Democratic presidential nominee, according to Federal Election Commission filings. At the same time, he contributed $100,000 to the Harris Action Fund PAC.
Larsen, 64, has a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to Forbesprimarily due to its ownership of XRP and involvement in Ripple, which provides blockchain technology to financial services companies.
He’s part of an industry that has suddenly become important in political fundraising, albeit more heavily in favor of Republicans. Nearly half of all corporate money going into elections comes from the crypto industry, according to a recent report from the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen.
The Trump PAC has raised approximately $7.5 million in crypto donations since the beginning of June.
Fairshake, which is one of the biggest spending PACs this year, is targeting tight House races. The committee distributed nearly $29 million in September.
Of this amount, 20 million dollars went to two affiliated PACs – $15 million to the Defend American Jobs PAC, a specialized committee focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain policy that favored Republicans, and $5 million to Protect Progress, which did not supported that the Democrats.
The remaining $8.8 million spent by Fairshake last month primarily went to House races in New York, Nevada and California, according to FEC data compiled by crypto marketplace Breadcrumbs and blockchain analyst Delmore and verified by CNBC.
Many of these races are considered throws speak Cook Political Report. Among the recipients were Southern California Republicans David G. Valadao and Michael Garcia, who are in a close fight to retain their seats. They received $1.3 million and $1 million, respectively.
For the 2024 cycle, political donations from or supporting the crypto industry reached around $190 million and so far, crypto groups have spent more than $130 million of that money in congressional races for this year’s elections, including primaries.