Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas claimed that Kamala Harris‘ campaign is accepting crypto donations via Coinbase Commerce, highlighting the VP’s potential to gain support by backing pro-crypto legislation.
The chief financial officer of Coinbase proposed that the campaign of United States Vice President Kamala Harris take cryptocurrency donations through the exchange’s Commerce platform.
Alesia Haas, the Chief Financial Officer of Coinbase, attended Citi’s 2024 Global TMT Conference in New York on September 4. She stated that Vice President Harris had a “huge opportunity” to appeal to voters in the 2024 election by advocating for legislation that would benefit the crypto industry.
Haas also stated that the Democratic presidential candidate was currently utilizing Coinbase Commerce to receive cryptocurrency for her own campaign. This led to news that the campaign was directly accepting digital asset contributions.
Nevertheless, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign stated that the campaign was currently able to receive crypto contributions through the Future Forward political action committee (PAC).
The Super PAC has raised over $163 million for Harris’ campaign to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump in the November election, according to Open Secrets.
The 2020 election of Vice President Joe Biden was funded by Future Forward, which allocated $150 million to his campaign.
Anita Dunn, Biden’s senior adviser, was reportedly planning to join the Super PAC after he announced that he would not seek reelection in 2024. Dunn has also participated in events that have addressed crypto policy with industry leaders.
PACs Having an Impact on the Outcome of US Elections?
As part of their efforts to provide support to Democratic candidates for the 2022 US midterm elections, FTX executives, including then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, contributed to Future Forward. As part of the criminal case against Bankman-Fried and FTX executives, the Super PAC was identified as one of five entities whose assets may be forfeited.
Money from political action committees, such as the Fairshake PAC, which is funded by cryptocurrency, and Future Forward, could potentially influence the 2024 US elections for the presidency and congressional campaigns.
Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer of Coinbase, which is one of Fairshake’s largest donors, stated that the company was primarily focused on House elections, but it remained in contact with Harris and Trump campaign officials.
On September 3, Republican John Deaton emerged victorious in his Massachusetts primary, with the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a PAC that includes notable crypto industry leaders as its donors, providing him with the necessary support.
More than $1.3 million was expended by the PAC to advocate for Deaton. In November, he will compete against the current Democratic Senator, Elizabeth Warren.
