Ripple co-founder donates $10 million in XRP to Harris campaign, calls for “new approach” to crypto
Chris Larson donated $9.9 million to the PAC Future Forward and $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund. Larson is one of the crypto industry's biggest donors to the 2024 election campaign. Brad Garlinghouse said Ripple will continue to engage with Democrats and Republicans during and after the election campaign.
Chris Larson, co-founder and CEO of Ripple, donated $10 million in XRP to Vice President Kamala Harris' election effort.
In a post on X, Larson — who donated $1 million in XRP to Harris' Future Forward Political Action Committee (PAC) in August — said he is donating an additional $10 million to Harris' campaign.
“It's time for Democrats to take a new approach to tech innovation, including cryptocurrency,” Larson said in the message.
It's time for Democrats to take a new approach to technological innovation, including cryptocurrency. I believe @KamalaHarris will prove that US technology dominates the world, which is why I'm donating $10M in XRP to support her.
— Chris Larsen (@chrislarsensf) October 21,
According to CNBC, Larson gave $9.9 million to Future Forward and $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund. His donation made him one of the crypto industry's biggest donors to the 2024 election campaign.
In response to Larson's message, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said on X: “They respect Chris's (and everyone else's) right to support what they think is best to run America.”
“Ripple will continue to engage with Democrats and Republicans in the final days of the campaign (and after the election) to promote pro-crypto policies. It's not about party lines; it's about advancing policies that promote blockchain and crypto innovation.”
Increase in crypto donations
The crypto industry has made about $190 million in political donations so far in the 2024 US election cycle. This is the year This is a significant increase from the 2020 election when $15 million was donated. Of the $190 million, more than $130 million was spent on congressional races.
Crypto super PAC Fairshack is the largest in the election, raising more than $202 million, according to Open Secrets, a research group that tracks money in American politics.
Former President Donald Trump received his fair share of crypto donations. In June, the Winklevoss twins sent the US candidate $2 million in Bitcoin, and in the same month, Jesse Powell, the founder of crypto exchange Kraken, donated $1 million in Ethereum to the Trump campaign.
