David Yaffe-Bellany

It's not completely new. You know, listeners might remember Sam Bankman Freed. He was that kind of tousled haired chief executive of the FTX crypto exchange who was a big star in business and politics for a while until it turned out that he was stealing billions of dollars from his customers.

It's not completely new. You know, listeners might remember Sam Bankman Freed. He was that kind of tousled haired chief executive of the FTX crypto exchange who was a big star in business and politics for a while until it turned out that he was stealing billions of dollars from his customers.

Exactly. And is now serving a 25 year sentence. So he's not on the scene anymore. And, you know, in any case, the political spending that he was doing was sort of haphazard. It wasn't kind of driven by a unified strategy. It was really organized by him rather than by a kind of coalition of companies.

Exactly. And is now serving a 25 year sentence. So he's not on the scene anymore. And, you know, in any case, the political spending that he was doing was sort of haphazard. It wasn't kind of driven by a unified strategy. It was really organized by him rather than by a kind of coalition of companies.

But what we ended up seeing in 2024 was a coalition of crypto companies working together really closely and really strategically to pour a huge, honestly unprecedented amount of money into politics. They created a brand new super PAC called FairShake. which spent a total of about $130 million in the 2024 campaign cycle, supporting more than 50 congressional candidates around the country.

But what we ended up seeing in 2024 was a coalition of crypto companies working together really closely and really strategically to pour a huge, honestly unprecedented amount of money into politics. They created a brand new super PAC called FairShake. which spent a total of about $130 million in the 2024 campaign cycle, supporting more than 50 congressional candidates around the country.

And that amount of spending is one of the most audacious, aggressive spending sprees by any industry in the post-Citizens United era of American politics. It's a huge deal, not just for crypto, but honestly in the history of money in politics in the United States. And at a high level, the objective was to create the most pro-crypto Congress in U.S.

And that amount of spending is one of the most audacious, aggressive spending sprees by any industry in the post-Citizens United era of American politics. It's a huge deal, not just for crypto, but honestly in the history of money in politics in the United States. And at a high level, the objective was to create the most pro-crypto Congress in U.S.

history, to fill seats with people who had advanced crypto policy goals. But obviously, there were particular races that were especially important. And one great example that kind of crystallizes the stakes of this for the crypto industry was the Ohio Senate race, which pitted Sherrod Brown against Bernie Moreno.

history, to fill seats with people who had advanced crypto policy goals. But obviously, there were particular races that were especially important. And one great example that kind of crystallizes the stakes of this for the crypto industry was the Ohio Senate race, which pitted Sherrod Brown against Bernie Moreno.

The stakes were so high because Sherrod Brown, the incumbent Ohio senator, longtime Democrat, was chair of the Senate Banking Committee, which is a kind of super important committee in the legislative process for financial regulation. And Brown was also, you know, a crypto skeptic.

The stakes were so high because Sherrod Brown, the incumbent Ohio senator, longtime Democrat, was chair of the Senate Banking Committee, which is a kind of super important committee in the legislative process for financial regulation. And Brown was also, you know, a crypto skeptic.

So you had this kind of powerful anti-crypto figure in the Senate. And his opponent, Bernie Moreno, is sort of the opposite.

So you had this kind of powerful anti-crypto figure in the Senate. And his opponent, Bernie Moreno, is sort of the opposite.

I mean, a Bitcoin booster who'd actually founded his own crypto company and on the campaign trail, you know, talked relentlessly about how much he loved crypto. The industry spent $40 million on that race, you know, to try to boost Bernie Moreno's candidacy. And Moreno won. Another key race was the Democratic Senate primary in California.

I mean, a Bitcoin booster who'd actually founded his own crypto company and on the campaign trail, you know, talked relentlessly about how much he loved crypto. The industry spent $40 million on that race, you know, to try to boost Bernie Moreno's candidacy. And Moreno won. Another key race was the Democratic Senate primary in California.

The industry spent a huge amount of money trying to tank the candidacy of one of the Democrats running for that slot, Katie Porter. The reason they went after her is because Porter is a close ally of Elizabeth Warren, the liberal Democratic senator who's also been an outspoken critic of crypto.

The industry spent a huge amount of money trying to tank the candidacy of one of the Democrats running for that slot, Katie Porter. The reason they went after her is because Porter is a close ally of Elizabeth Warren, the liberal Democratic senator who's also been an outspoken critic of crypto.

So you can see how the industry was kind of both trying to boost people that they liked and also take down vocal critics of the crypto industry. In California, Katie Porter lost, and that sent a really strong message about the power of the crypto industry.

So you can see how the industry was kind of both trying to boost people that they liked and also take down vocal critics of the crypto industry. In California, Katie Porter lost, and that sent a really strong message about the power of the crypto industry.