President Joe Biden’s election campaign team is calling for financial aid to keep up with his Republican, competition, who he says is backed by the wealthy crypto industry.
Biden Begs For Support To Fight Crypto
In a widely circulated screenshot on Wednesday, Biden’s campaign team appeared to have messaged followers warning them of the sheer size of donations being received by the Trump campaign.
“Folks, this couldn’t be any more serious,” Biden’s message reads. “Cryptocurrency executives and oil barrons are coming out of the woodwork for Trump. They’re rushing $800,000 checks at glitzy events.”
Biden admitted that Trump’s campaign was outraising his own, pulling $76 million in April, with $50 million raised purely from the former President’s $50 million Florida gala last month.
NEW: 🇺🇸 Joe Biden’s campaign asks for donations, saying “cryptocurrency executives” backing Donald Trump are “outraising” them.
Earlier today, Trump started accepting #Bitcoin and crypto for campaign donations. pic.twitter.com/pgajwotVXb
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 21, 2024
Biden’s request mimics those of democratic senator Elizabeth Warren months prior, who is now in direct competition with a Republican pro-crypto lawyer for her seat in Massachusets.
Figures from the Federal Election Commission last month showed that John Deaton – who represented 75,000 XRP investors in a lawsuit with federal regulators last year – raised $1.36 million in Q1, compared to Warren’s $1.1 million. Some of Deaton’s donors included Skybridge Capital co-founder Anthony Scaramucci and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, among others.
Crypto’s Partisan Nature
Crypto’s lopsided support for Republicans follows years of hostile enforcement actions against the industry from the Democrat-led Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and direct efforts from the White House to hamper the Bitcoin mining industry.
Earlier this month, the White House promised to veto legislation that would repeal SAB 121 – an SEC rule widely criticized for preventing regulated banks from offering crypto custody services.
Both the House and Senate have now passed the resolutions, with total Republican support alongside small Democrat support in both chambers.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump – who once derided Bitcoin as a scam – is now warming up to the industry. After a February interview saying he would be tolerant of Bitcoin, the candidate has now begun accepting crypto-based campaign donations, with intentions to build a “crypto army” challenging Elizabeth Warren’s hostile efforts.
An official filing in October 2023 showed that Trump personally owned between $250,000 and $500,000 in crypto.
Later today, the House of Representatives will vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), which is intended to foster broad regulatory clarity for crypto at large.