Chris Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder and chairman, contributed nearly $9.9 million to Future Forward in September, in addition to more than $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund, according to FEC data compiled by Breadcrumbs crypto and blockchain analyst James Delmore and independently. verified by CNBC.
Including Larsen’s contribution in August $1 Million worth of XRP Tokensthe billionaire has given more than $11.8 million to PACs supporting the Harris campaign, making him one of the crypto industry’s biggest single donors this cycle.
Larsen, who has endorsed candidates across the aisle in recent years, told CNBC in an interview that his comfort level with Harris comes from conversations he’s had with people inside the campaign and what he’s seen from the vice president since replacing President Biden at the top. of the ticket in July.
It helps that Harris is from the Bay Area.
“She’s known people who have grown up in the innovation economy her whole life,” Larsen told CNBC. “So I think he gets it at a fundamental level, in a way that I think the Biden people just didn’t pay attention to, or maybe they just didn’t make the connection between empowering workers and making sure that American champions dominate their industries. “
Larsen’s love for the Democratic nominee is not new. In February, he gave the maximum personal contribution of $6,600 to Harris (which would cover the primary and general election), about five months before she became the Democratic presidential nominee, FEC records show. At the same time, he contributed $100,000 to the Harris Action Fund PAC.
Larsen, 64, has a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to Forbesprimarily from its ownership of XRP and its stake in Ripple, which provides blockchain technology for financial services companies.
It’s part of an industry that has suddenly become prominent in political fundraising, albeit more so in supporting Republicans. Almost half of all corporate money flowing into elections comes from the crypto industry, according to a recent report by the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen.
The Trump PAC has raised about $7.5 million in crypto donations since early June.
Fairshake, which is one of the highest-spending PACs this year, is targeting close House races. The committee gave out nearly $29 million in September.
From this amount, 20 million dollars it went to two affiliated PACs — $15 million to Defend American Jobs PAC, a single-issue committee focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain politics that has favored Republicans, and $5 million to Protecting Progress, which has only supported Democrats.
The remaining $8.8 million Fairshake spent last month went mostly to House races in New York, Nevada and California, according to FEC data compiled by crypto and blockchain analyst James Delmore and verified by CNBC.
Several of these races are under review blasts from the Cook Political Report. Among the recipients were Southern California Republicans David G. Valadao and Michael Garcia, who are in tight races to retain their seats. They have received $1.3 million and $1 million, respectively.
For the 2024 cycle, political donations or support from the crypto industry reached about $190 million, and so far, crypto groups have spent over $130 million of that cash in congressional races for this year’s elections, including qualifiers.