Lobby crypto: Binance, Coinbase and FTX

The new study by Money Mongers Team focused on lobbying spending by crypto companies: specifically focusing on Coinbase, Binance and FTX.

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Lobbying spending by crypto companies: up 922%

The Money Mongers Team conducted a study that revealed that the lobbying expenses of crypto companies were increasing 922% from $2.5 million (2017) to $25.57 million (2022) and increased 121.41% from $11.54 million (2021) to $25.57 million (2022).

Lobbying is often labeled as corruption by many people who do not understand the system, but it is an important part of participatory democracy. In fact, lobbying is protected by the US Constitution and takes place in secret in all countries.

As part of lobbying the government, individuals and organizations conduct public campaigns to get elected officials to collect and approve specific public policy actions in support of their agendas.

The same is also done by cryptocurrency companies and in 2022 alone they helped lobby up to $25.57 billion with the sole motivation of influence politics in their favor.

In this way, companies that can profit from cryptocurrency lobbying are spending a significant amount of money to ensure that cryptocurrency laws are passed as soon as possible.

For this reason, cryptocurrency lobbying spending has increased significantly over the past half decade or so.

Crypto lobby expenses for Coinbase, Binance and FTX

In 2022, Coinbase used 3.30 million dollarsmaking it the company that used the most cryptocurrencies, followed by Blockchain Association with $1.9 million and Robinhood with a spend of $1.84 million.

Coinbase’s expenses have increased 4137% over the past six years, from $80,000 (2017) to $3.30 million (2022) and increased 122% from $1.52 million (2021) to 3.30 million dollars (2022). Meanwhile, Binanceits spending on crypto lobbying increased by 500% from $160,000 (2021) to $960,000 (2022).

FTX also experienced a 1,340% growth in lobbying spending from $50,000 (2021) to $720,000 (2022). While Ripple experienced a 2060% increase in lobbying spending from $50,000 (2017) to 1.08 million dollars (2022).

Almost half of the total lobbying expenses of cryptocurrency companies have come in 2022. In fact, the total for the last six years is $50.75 million, of which $25.57 million was used in 2022.

According to Money Mongers’ research, in 2022, the first among the top three companies lobbying the government to enact more pro-crypto funds was Coinbase.

As expected, Coinbase spent $3.30 million on lobbying, which is the highest among cryptocurrency companies in the United States. Furthermore, they have the second highest spot trading volume ($1.16 billion) after Binance, which alone explains why they would be interested in spending so much on lobbying.

In the end, they used a total of 32 lobbyists during the year, 26 of them revolvers. It is common practice among people working in the public sector, including congressional staffers, to accept jobs with lobbying firms because they understand the inner workings of the sectors they used to oversee.

These people are called “revolvers,” while those who do the opposite, that is, from lobbying firms to public office, are called “reverse revolvers.”

The trend of spending on lobbying since 2017

Back in 2017, Money Mongers drew a graph to show how lobbying spending has increased. This shows which of the companies have long been supporters of lobbying campaigns and spent more on lobbying as a whole.

As mentioned above, cryptocurrency lobbying spending has taken off over the past six years and has seen a 922% growth from $2.5 million in 2017 to $25.57 million in 2022.

In terms of individual companies, the top five companies that have contributed the most to these expenses over the past six years are: ECM Group, Coinbase, Block Inc (Square Inc), Blockchain Association and Robinhood.

More specifically, CME Group is a leading advocate for Bitcoin and Ethereum derivative contracts that allow traditional financial investors to taste and profit from the volatile prices of cryptocurrencies without ever taking ownership of the asset.

Since 2017, when the first derivatives contracts for Bitcoin were offered on the exchange, the crypto derivatives market has generated a lot of volume. The company has used almost 8.26 million dollars on lobbying since 2017, placing it firmly at the top of this list.

They used 20 lobbyists in the year 2022, of which 13 were revolvers. Coinbase, as it is known, is one of the oldest crypto exchanges around when it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies.

Established in 2012 mainly for the American audience, it has now spread to more than 100 countries. Being so prominent, the exchange has carried out a total expenditure of $5.595 million for the past six years, occupied second place on the list and has experienced steady growth in lobbying spending year after year.

To conclude, it can be said that lobbying has worked in favor of the cryptocurrency industry, with the involvement of companies such as Meta and IBM. However, it has not been easy, as simply pouring money into lobbying does not guarantee favorable results.

In fact, many companies and individuals involved in the cryptocurrency game continue to be skeptical of the changes the cryptosphere will bring to the financial world and reject the advances of lobbying firms.