Ripple Co-founder Donates $1 Million to Harris Campaign
11 Oct, 2024 ● Crypto News
Records from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show that Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen donated 1,754,815.29 XRP, valued at $1 million at the time, to the Harris-Walz 2024 Presidential campaign.
The FEC filings indicate the contribution was made on Aug. 14, 2024, to the pro-Harris political action committee (PAC) Future Forward.
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett noted that this marks the first recorded cryptocurrency donation to the Harris campaign.
In September, a spokesperson for Future Forward told Cointelegraph that the PAC was accepting crypto donations on behalf of Harris, clarifying that earlier reports suggesting the campaign was directly accepting cryptocurrency were false.
As of October 2024, Future Forward has reportedly collected over $200 million in contributions, according to the FEC.
In September, Larsen, along with 87 other corporate executives, signed a letter pledging support for Harris. The letter stated:
"With Kamala Harris in the White House, the business community can be confident that it will have a President who wants American industries to thrive."
The signatories also emphasized that “Vice President Harris has a strong record of advancing actions to spur business investment in the United States.”
Also in September, various crypto industry advocate groups and executives announced they were raising $100,000 for the Harris campaign in an effort to influence her stance on U.S. digital asset policy.
The industry leaders hoped that their contributions would lead Harris to shift away from her administration’s current crypto-hostile approach.
After sustained pressure from the crypto industry, Harris made her first comments on crypto policy in late September. The campaign’s response was:
“We will partner together to invest in America’s competitiveness, to invest in America’s future. We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors.”
However, this statement did not signal a change from existing administration policies, as parts of it were nearly identical to remarks made by the Biden administration in May 2024, before vetoing the bipartisan SAB-121 repeal later that month.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-co-founder-donates-1-million-xrp-harris-campaign
