Where do the pro-crypto candidates stand ahead of the election?

by · November 4, 2022

The mid-term elections in 2022 will be held in the United States on November 8. Thirty-four senators and all 435 members of the House of Representatives will run. According to media reports, cryptocurrency lobbyists and political action committees have pumped millions of dollars into select campaigns, and extensive polls have shown that crypto is on the minds of voters.

Fundraising and polling are normal parts of the American political system, but the numbers associated with crypto may have raised eyebrows. Sam Bankman-Fried called $1 billion his “soft ceiling” for election contributions in 2022, for example. Although he supported some of his intentions, he remains the sixth largest donor in this election cycle. There are also many crypto-related political action committees. According to Bloomberg, as of October 19, crypto-affiliated donors had spent more than donors to traditional recipients such as defense and big pharma.

A poll commissioned by Grayscale between October 6 and October 11 shows that 38% of polled voters would “consider crypto-political positions”. A poll commissioned by the Crypto Council for Innovation around the same time showed that 45% of voters “want lawmakers to treat crypto as a serious and valid part of the economy.”

Why all the excitement?

Crypto is making continuous inroads into daily life, even in the current unfavorable market conditions. Still, someone with some distance from the industry might be surprised to learn that 45% of potential American voters have any opinion about crypto at all.

But 40 million Americans own crypto, and they take it personally, Cornell Law School faculty member and Foley & Lardner partner Patrick Daugherty told Cointelegraph:

“Does ‘cryptopolitics’ resonate with voters as much as inflation and other headlines?” Probably not, but then again many voters are buying crypto as a hedge against inflation.”

Furthermore, “Crypto is the future of money, which is important to every American,” Daugherty said.

Martin Dobelle, one of the three co-founders of political software company Engage, agreed. “The average person cares more about this issue than you might expect,” he said. Dobelle attributed voter interest in crypto to a generally positive attitude toward technology, especially among the young. He told Cointelegraph:

“Voters are very pro-technology, pro-innovation and they […] may not know the ins and outs of crypto law or technical law, but they have a kind of intuitive sense of […] what policy thinking that moves in the direction of embracing technology and innovation will look like.”

Engage is a non-profit company with a mission to increase public participation in the political process. Among its activities, Engage is fundraising in cryptocurrency for 16 pro-crypto candidates.

What are we doing here?

The next logical question is what crypto voters want to achieve. Pro-crypto House members such as Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer and Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden are expected to win their races easily, while Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan faces equally pro-crypto Republican JD Vance. Not only that, the crypto regulatory situation is relatively under control, with bills already in the House and Senate.

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Hogan Lovell’s partner Aaron Cutler saw a limited connection between the election and upcoming crypto regulation. “I don’t think it’s a question of political support, but more of a question of political priorities,” he said, adding:

“This is one of the reasons we saw certain pieces of legislation introduced this Congress — not because it was going to be passed and passed into law, but because members want to show leadership and stake out some of the legislation.”

On the other hand, seeing existing bills come up for a vote more quickly is probably one of the effects greater political support would have.

The other effect of voting is to keep some candidates out of office. Attacks on crypto are perceived by many American voters “as threats to financial security and personal freedom,” Daugherty said.

Willamette University law professor Rohan Gray had none of the votes on a single issue. Pollsters “do not say that they [pro-crypto candidates] are good people, he said. Gray saw voting as important as an action. “Give the impression that people are coming to your cool party,” he said.

For Dobelle, the increase in political activity around crypto was significant as a sign that crypto is moving into the middle of the political spectrum, which he said is “overdue.”

Whose party is it?

The bipartisan/non-partisan nature of crypto is often commented on, but there are clear divisions in the crypto world. First, crypto skews right. This can be seen, among other things, in the Crypto Action Network politicians’ scorecard. That organization has graded 144 US lawmakers on their crypto support. (The remaining nearly 400 lawmakers presumably have no exposure to crypto.) The scorecards gave Republicans an average grade of 3.4 out of 4, converted from AF grades, while Democrats scored an average of 2.1.

The bipartisanship legislation is full of “sensible compromises,” according to Daugherty, and has a better chance of passing in the current polarized environment. Cutler agreed, though he added that his firm anticipates “Republican-led committee oversight and investigations of agencies with jurisdiction over digital assets and cryptocurrency.”

Gray, a proponent of modern monetary policy, had a simple explanation for crypto’s proper leanings based on its origins in libertarian economics and Cypherpunks:

“The problem being solved with crypto is an inherently right-wing problem.”

Gray saw only one outcome from a predictable election result: Crypto’s “handover to big business.”

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Whether these claims are accepted or not, they point to an old, fundamental dichotomy: crypto as the Wild West—alternative and unregulated money—and crypto regulated and integrated into the economic mainstream. In this light, the midterm elections in 2022 are a reproduction of a familiar trope and a small movement towards the solution.

Digital Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Policy Cody Carbone wrote in one of his many tweets, “Crypto has yet to become a mainstream part of candidate platforms. Given user adoption trends, this WILL change for the 2024 election. It’s up to voters and the industry to make sure our voices are heard.”