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Crypto's $130 million congressional election binge has candidates like Utah's John Curtis poised for big wins

Aseem — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 17:36:49 +0000

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks during the Utah Senate primary debate for Republican contenders battling to win the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, June 10, 2024, in Salt Lake City.

Rick Bowmer | AP

SALT LAKE CITY — John Curtis, a Republican congressman from Utah, has become a favorite of the crypto industry in his bid to win the Senate seat held by the departing Mitt Romney. He took a somewhat oblong route through the telecommunications sector to get there.

At an event in Salt Lake City last week, Curtis told a few dozen crypto enthusiasts that he had a conversation a few years ago with some fellow House members about internet service providers and how to incentivize them to boost their offerings. The various lawmakers were throwing around different connection speeds — 50 megabits, 100 megabits — but when Curtis asked whether they’d ever run a speed test, he got puzzling responses.

“They looked at me like I was from another planet,” Curtis told the crowd at the Permissionless conference.

Curtis, 64, said he realized then that lawmakers needed to be smarter about regulations and actually understand the user experience. That’s particularly true in crypto, he said.

“This is so important to get government involved, because if they don’t understand what you’re doing, they’ll make really bad decisions,” the Provo-based congressman said, as the attendees nodded their head in unison. “The worst part of regulation is its unpredictability.”

Curtis’ attitude toward crypto is a big reason why digital coin enthusiasts have filled his coffers in his campaign against Democratic candidate Caroline Gleich, setting him up for what appears to be a landslide victory next month.

The Defend American Jobs PAC, a single-issue committee focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain policy, has contributed more than $1.9 million to Curtis’ campaign, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by crypto market and blockchain analyst James Delmore and verified by CNBC. Additionally, the PAC spent more than $1.5 million to oppose Curtis’ Republican primary challenger, Trent Staggs.

Ben Lucas, Curtis’ campaign spokesman, declined an interview on behalf of the congressman. He sent a statement from Corey Norman, the chief of staff, saying that, “John has always been a strong supporter of the crypto industry as it will help Utah’s economy continue to grow and be a great place to create jobs.”

The sprawling and decentralized digital asset industry is backing Curtis and others who are publicly adopting a pro-crypto policy within their campaigns. The crypto industry accounts for nearly half of all donations made by corporations this election cycle as the sector outpaces both the big banks and oil. Of the 42 primary candidates that crypto-backed super PACs supported, they were successful in 36.

In total, crypto groups have spent over $130 million in congressional races for this year’s election, including the primaries, according to FEC data.

Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, have been targeting competitive Senate and House races across the U.S.

Protect Progress has given more than $10 million apiece to Senate candidates in Arizona and Michigan. In Arizona, the group favors Democrat Ruben Gallego, who is vying for the seat being vacated by Kyrsten Sinema. In Michigan, the preferred choice is Elissa Slotkin, who is currently a Democratic House member.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) becomes emotional as the crowd cheers on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 22, 2024.

Kevin Wurm | Reuters

The Republican candidates in Indiana and West Virginia have each received more than $3 million from Defend American Jobs. In Massachusetts, a super PAC for Republican John Deaton has pulled in $2.6 million from the crypto industry. Deaton, however, is polling way behind Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is one of the crypto sector’s top antagonists in Washington.

“Elizabeth Warren is not going to lose her election in Massachusetts, so the industry can’t get rid of Warren,” said Delmore. “But they can at least help to vote out candidates who are allied with her against the crypto industry.”

One big target is Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, the chair of the banking committee. Some $40 million of crypto money has been directed at defeating Brown, and one PAC has paid for five ads designed to boost awareness of his Republican rival, Bernie Moreno, a blockchain entrepreneur. The race is currently very close and is crucial in determining which party will control the Senate.

In House races, around $3.6 million in crypto PAC money has gone to candidates in Arizona, $5.4 million in New York, more than $4.8 million in Virginia, and $5.7 million in California, with half of that spend going to Republican Michelle Park Steel.

Crypto PAC money has been party agnostic and not just focused on battleground districts. The focus is on supporting lawmakers who embrace regulation that favors the technology rather than getting in its way.

“When we talk about digital assets, when we talk about crypto, that is not about Republicans and Democrats,” said House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), at Permissionless. “That’s about Americans, that’s about decentralization of a system that has been, literally, consolidated at the top.”

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Bitcoin approaches $70,000 with speculators eyeing record highs

suimt — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 04:11:11 +0000

Bitcoin last traded at $70,000 in July, and reached an all-time high of almost $74,000 in March.

Bitcoin bulls are setting their sights again on the record highs reached in March with optimism building around riskier assets and the looming US elections.
“After six months of price consolidation this year, the stage is set for a perfect storm in favor of Bitcoin and other crypto assets,” wrote Blockforce Capital’s Brett Munster. He cited a rise in global liquidity, including from China, which has been offering a raft of stimulus measures in recent days in an attempt to boost its economy.
The original cryptocurrency gained as much as 2.9% to $68,376 on Wednesday before paring the increase to trade around $67,800.Bitcoin last traded at $70,000 in July, and reached an all-time high of almost $74,000 in March.
Bitcoin Trades at Highest Level Since July
“Global liquidity is on the rise again, with central banks across the world injecting cheap capital into their economies,” Munster wrote. “When global liquidity has exceeded its moving average in the past, it has often coincided with significant upward movements in the price of Bitcoin.”
Other smaller tokens gained, with Dogecoin jumping around 10% and XRP increasing about 2%.
Adding to the optimism is a pledge this week from Vice President Kamala Harris to support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The acknowledgment follows years of complaints from the crypto sector that US officials have chosen a path of regulation through enforcement rather than by providing clarity. Former President Donald Trump has actively sought crypto voters during the current presidential race versus Harris and has several ongoing crypto-related endeavors.

Bitcoin Trades Above $62,000 Despite Minor Dips, ETH Joins SHIB, DOGE in Clocking Small Gains

Ashish Singh — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 07:19:31 +0000

The cryptocurrency market saw more losses than gains on Wednesday, October 9. Bitcoin experienced minor declines on both domestic and international exchanges over the past 24 hours. Despite these slight setbacks, the leading cryptocurrency has maintained its price above $62,000 (roughly Rs. 52.04 lakh) on global platforms. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $62,353 (around Rs. 52.3 lakh) on international exchanges, according to CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, on India-based exchanges such as CoinSwitch and CoinDCX, BTC was priced higher, hovering around $63,917 (roughly Rs. 53.6 lakh).

“Bitcoin is currently trading above $62,000 (roughly Rs. 52.04 lakh), primed to show bullish momentum as ‘Uptober’ optimism grows despite volatility,” said Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder and CEO, Pi42 as commenting on the market situation.

Ether dropped in price by 1.75 percent in the last 24 hours. The asset is trading at $2,442 (roughly Rs. 2.04 lakh) on international exchanges. In India, on the other hand, ETH is valued at $2,515 (roughly Rs. 2.11 lakh), showed the crypto price tracker by Gadgets360.

“Enthusiasm is building within the ETH community following the introduction of a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-7781), designed to significantly enhance transaction speed and help decentralised exchanges (DEXs) save an estimated $100 million (roughly Rs. 839 crore). In the coming days, the price point of $2,400 (roughly Rs. 2,01 lakh) will act as a strong support zone for the asset,” ZebPay’s Trade Desk told Gadgets360.

USD Coin, Ripple, Cardano, Avalanche, and Polkadot recorded losses alongside BTC on Wednesday.

Monero, Stellar, Cronos, and Cosmos also registered price dips.

The overall valuation of the crypto sector tumbled by 0.55 percent in the last 24 hours. With this, the sector’s valuation has reached $2.17 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,82,15,945 crore) as per CoinMarketCap.

“Sustained consolidation could allow altcoins to outperform Bitcoin in the short term,” predicted Vikram Subburaj, CEO, Giottus crypto exchange.

Meanwhile Tether, Binance Coin, Solana, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu reflected small profits on Wednesday alongside ETH.

Polygon and EOS Coin also managed to hold onto gains despite the market volatility.

“Memecoins, known for their volatility, saw a sell-off as traders cashed out after recent gains. Tokens like PEPE, Dogwifhat (WIF), and Popcat dropped around five percent, reflecting profit-taking,” the CoinSwitch Markets Desk told Gadgets360.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.

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