Ripple has donated an additional $25 million to the pro-cryptocurrency political action committee (PAC) FairShake.
Moreover, the CEO of the blockchain payments company said in an interview with Axios published on Wednesday (May 29) that there are other sources for the information.
“This isn't a one-time thing,” said Brad Garlinghouse, who pledged to donate $25 million annually to FairShake as long as there are opponents in the cryptocurrency industry.
Ripple was set to donate an additional $25 million to FairShake in 2023. The new donation brings FairShake's cash reserves to $110 million, almost half of which came from Ripple, Axios reported, and comes amid a new surge in the cryptocurrency industry in Washington DC.
Nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said in a report earlier this month that crypto industry super PACs have become one of the top three fundraisers in the 2024 election cycle, behind only the super PAC for Republican Ron DeSantis' failed presidential campaign and super PACs supporting Democratic Senate candidates.
And last week, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act, a first step in creating a comprehensive federal framework that supporters say will ensure regulatory certainty for digital assets while also providing important consumer protections.
And the bipartisan support for the bill (it passed with a 279-208 vote, with 208 Republicans joining 71 Democrats) “demonstrates how far the beleaguered cryptocurrency industry has come from a regulatory perspective in the United States,” PYMNTS reported last week.
Still, the bill, whose future in the Senate remains unclear, did not pass without controversy: Hours before the vote, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler issued a statement saying the bill would undermine the SEC's job.
Gensler stressed that the bill “would create a new regulatory vacuum, overturn decades of precedent for oversight of investment contracts, and expose investors and capital markets to immeasurable risks.”
Additionally, President Joe Biden issued a policy statement opposing the bill, saying that “in its current form, it lacks sufficient protections for consumers and investors engaging in certain digital asset transactions.”
“Still, the bill passed, providing a ray of hope to an industry that has long lamented regulatory uncertainty about operating in the U.S.,” PYMNTS wrote.
“Next, the cryptocurrency industry needs to prove its usability and practicality across payments and commerce as it seeks to continue to make inroads into traditional finance and expand mainstream acceptance.”
