New York The cryptocurrency sector, a new financial force in the 2024 U.S. election cycle, is surveying congressional candidates on their opinions on the digital asset as its political arm grows tens of thousands of followers and war chest.
Olivia Buckley of OpenSecrets, a research group that tracks money in U.S. politics, said the Stand With Crypto Alliance survey, which organizes crypto owners and influences public opinion, is a way for a young industry like crypto to engage in political activity without trade organizations.
Candidates who answer the poll positively may receive assistance from crypto-friendly groups. Buckley claimed pro-crypto non-profits have increased in recent years. Crypto regulation at the federal level remains very much contested and murky, so seeing which candidates can garner support from the industry could be telling as far as what's to come in Congress," she said.
Stand With Crypto said over a dozen candidates from California, Alabama, Texas, Indiana, and Maryland have completed the survey, but they declined to name them. The group told Reuters it will send the survey to candidates for the 468 congressional seats up for election in November.
"It's for crypto advocates and the crypto community to understand where policymakers, elected officials, and federal candidates stand on the issue," said Stand With Crypto chief strategist Nick Carr.
The survey, seen by Reuters, asks candidates if they think Bitcoin will drive technical innovation and if the U.S. should modernize crypto regulation. It also asks if a candidate would support legislation like a digital asset regulating measure introduced to the House of Representatives last year.
Stand With Crypto's website reports 370,000 members as of Wednesday, up from 315,000 before March 5's Super Tuesday events. Coinbase, a crypto exchange, helped form the group.
Three new super PACs—Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress—have donated millions to Super Tuesday contests for pro-crypto candidates. According to OpenSecrets, the three super PACs have spent over $21 million in independent expenditures this election year.
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