Update 5:40 p.m. ET: Changes headline, adds details

Crypto companies – especially Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Ripple – have so far pumped over $119 million into the 2024 U.S. elections, according to a report by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.

Accordingly According to the report, crypto companies dominated political spending in 2024, accounting for 48% of total corporate spending this year ($248 million so far).

“Money makes all the difference,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told Axios last year. “That’s how our system works, for better or for worse.”

In June 2024, Ripple President Monica Long told Reuters: “I think as an industry, particularly as U.S.-based companies, we are frustrated by how far behind the U.S. is in setting rules.”

The crypto industry experienced a resurgence in 2024 after a series of high-profile bankruptcies in 2022 led to increased scrutiny and regulatory crackdowns.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has risen over 45% so far this year, easily outperforming the S&P 500’s gain of about 18%.

Several major crypto companies have been sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for alleged violations of securities laws, including Coinbase (COIN) and Ripple.

The crypto industry is pushing for a bill that would limit the SEC’s oversight of the industry. It has also lobbied for a bill that would create a comprehensive regulatory framework for its assets.

The majority of donations went to the cryptocurrency-focused Fairshake PAC, a super PAC that has raised $202.9 million. More than half of Fairshake’s funds came from companies that will benefit from the PAC’s efforts, the report said, primarily Coinbase (COIN) and Ripple.

Fairshake describes its mission as supporting leaders “who advocate for the interests of progressive innovation, including blockchain technology and the crypto industry, through independent promotional efforts.”

The PAC’s backers include venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Armstrong, Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss.

47% of Fairshake’s funding came from crypto executives and venture capitalists, including $44 million from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from the Winklevoss twins, and $1 million from Armstrong.

Total spending by crypto firms over the last three election cycles, totaling $129 million, represents 15% of all known corporate donations since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010. 92% of corporate crypto donations occurred in 2024.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission struck down certain campaign finance restrictions and allowed corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections.

Public Citizen called the increase in contributions from crypto companies “unprecedented,” adding that crypto company spending lags only behind that of the fossil fuel industry, which has spent $162 million over the past 14 years.