Digital asset advocacy group Stand With Crypto launched its own political action committee (PAC) on May 10 with the goal of endorsing and supporting candidates who protect the rights of the organization’s advocates. The committee will back pro-crypto politicians leading up to the November 2024 elections. They are currently supporting a diverse group of candidates, including Congressional hopefuls Eddy Morales, Shomari Figures, and Troy Downing, as well as Senatorial candidates Jim Justice and Jim Banks. Stand With Crypto, which was launched by Coinbase last year, has grown to nearly 450,000 members and is aiming to support candidates who align with their mission.
The PAC’s launch comes at a time when data from the Digital Currency Group (DCG) shows that one in five voters in swing states consider crypto to be a key issue in the upcoming elections. Stand With Crypto’s PAC is currently endorsing both Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy in the 2024 U.S. presidential race. Both candidates have shown support for digital assets in the past, with Trump recently announcing that his campaign will begin accepting digital asset donations. Kennedy, on the other hand, has been an outspoken advocate for virtual currencies and has stated that he would put the entire U.S. budget on the blockchain if elected president.
In contrast to their support for Trump and Kennedy, the crypto PAC has taken a stance against current President Joe Biden, giving him an ‘F’ rating for his strict approach towards digital assets. Biden recently announced that he would veto a resolution from representatives Mike Flood and Wiley Nickel that would challenge the SEC’s controversial staff accounting bulletin requiring banks to list liabilities and corresponding digital assets on their balance sheets. Pro-crypto lawmakers argue that banks should be allowed to custody digital assets as they have done with traditional financial assets for decades to maintain financial stability and market certainty.
The PAC’s support for pro-crypto politicians is part of a larger effort to ensure that cryptocurrencies and digital assets have a place in the political landscape. With a growing number of voters considering crypto to be an important issue, organizations like Stand With Crypto are working to make sure that candidates who understand and support these technologies are elected to office. By backing candidates who align with their goals, the PAC is striving to create a more crypto-friendly political environment leading up to the November 2024 elections.
