Fairshake Successfully Collects Most Donations, Beats MAGA

JAKARTA - In the 2024 electoral cycle in the United States, Fairshake, a political action committee (PAC) led by Coinbase, has raised more funds than any other Super PAC, including Make America Great Again Inc. (MAGA) backed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Based on data from OpenSecrets political donation researchers, Fairshake has raised more than 202 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 3.29 trillion), while MAGA is in second place with 201 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 3.27 trillion).

Reporting from Cointelegraph, Fairshake, whose mission is to provide blockchain innovators with the ability to develop their network under a clearer regulatory and legal framework, supported by various large companies in the crypto industry. Coinbase is the largest donor with donations of more than 46 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 750 billion), including 1 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 16.3 billion) from individual employees. Ripple follows with a donation of 45 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 734 billion), while individuals linked to venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, including founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, account for approximately 44 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 717 billion).

To date, Fairshake's political spending has exceeded 14 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 228 billion), with 10 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 163 billion) of which was used to successfully thwart the Senatorial Katie Porter campaign in California. In addition, more than 2 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 32 billion) have been spent fighting the ongoing Jamaal total campaign in New York.

Coinbase also leads the advocacy group Stand With Crypto, which supports certain candidates and advocates pro-industry policies. The group has supported candidates in 22 federal House and Senate campaigns. Despite supporting candidates from both sides, Stand With Crypto shows moderate preferences towards Republicans. The group views the Financial Innovation and Technology Bill for the 21st Century Act as very pro-crypto and also strongly supports Trump's vice presidential candidate, JD Vance.

Supporters of the crypto industry won a big win on July 27, when Trump, in a speech at a Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, expressed his intention to create a Bitcoin backup and sack Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler. Gensler is known for his tough stance on alleged abuses by crypto companies.