MoonPay has stepped up to support Coinbase’s pro-crypto PAC, “Stand With Crypto,” by making a significant, though undisclosed, donation. This move comes just as the U.S. gears up for the 2024 elections—a time many believe will be crucial for the future of cryptocurrency in the nation.
Funding the Future of Crypto
MoonPay’s contribution was announced by CEO Ivan Soto-Wright, who declared the company’s support early this morning. “This morning, we made a donation on behalf of everyone here at MoonPay to Stand With Crypto,” Soto-Wright stated, emphasizing the importance of the upcoming U.S. election in shaping the cryptocurrency industry.
He further stressed that it was crucial for people to take action to promote crypto, aiming to back officials who would foster innovation and consumer protection in the crypto industry.
The timing of MoonPay’s donation aligns closely with Coinbase’s recent reveal that its Stand With Crypto project has launched a PAC. This PAC invites roughly 450,000 members to financially support candidates who advocate for crypto-friendly policies.
Nick Carr, the chief strategist for Stand With Crypto, shared that their goal for November’s election cycle is to back candidates who will defend the rights of crypto advocates.
Political Moves and Market Influences
The creation of this PAC is not an isolated incident. It follows a series of engagements by Coinbase to establish a dialogue with financial regulators in the U.S., highlighted by the legal battles and negotiations that have peppered its history. Just last year, Coinbase was embroiled in a lawsuit with the SEC, which accused the exchange of violating federal securities laws—a conflict that saw some resolution in April 2024.
This ongoing effort to influence political support for cryptocurrency is part of a broader trend where digital assets are becoming increasingly partisan. Balaji Srinivasan, a prominent crypto entrepreneur and former Coinbase executive, pointed out the particular appeal of crypto to demographics like American conservatives and Chinese liberals, who often find themselves outside the main political tent of the Democratic party.
Srinivasan recently commented on the political nature of crypto, noting that in countries dominated by strong state controls—like those under Democratic or Communist parties—crypto poses a threat to established power structures.
Conversely, it offers a new form of empowerment for smaller states and disenfranchised groups. His observations highlight the complex dynamics at play as crypto becomes a tool for both financial and political empowerment.
A Political Divide
The partisan divide extends to how different demographics view and interact with crypto. In the U.S., top employers’ workforces and residents of the wealthiest counties—most of which lean Democratic—tend to support the Democratic party, thereby aligning with a more regulated approach to cryptocurrencies.
On the global stage, crypto is positioned uniquely between the political ideologies of major world powers, making it a point of contention in international finance and policy-making.
As the debate over the politicization of finance continues, figures like Nic Carter from Castle Island Ventures argue that crypto, by its nature, challenges traditional leftist financial policies and aligns more with rightist ideologies.
This inherent political charge has prompted responses from various quarters, including from former President Donald Trump, who has changed his view to embrace crypto in his upcoming campaign against Biden.