Crypto companies have poured money into influencing the 2024 presidential election. But blogger Molly White says there is no make-or-break block among crypto voters.
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American voters don't care about crypto, says Molly White, a sharp skeptic of crypto.
“There's this narrative that all these voters are there [for whom] Crypto is a make or break issue, and if a candidate comes out in support of crypto they will vote,” White told me.
“I don't think that's true. People care about the price of groceries or whether they can afford a house.
White's reputation is based on her blog, “Web3 is amazing,” where she describes the scams and rug-pulling of crypto.
Recently, she documented the crypto industry's large spending on political influence.
According to Whites, some companies and their executives — Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini, a16z — sent $174 million to political action committees before the US election. Own tracker.
Here are some takeaways from my recent chat with White.
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Crypto voters are not a thing
The industry wants to convince political candidates that there are crypto voters.
They do so by funding polls that they say reveal the existence of a grassroots pro-crypto movement.
Coinbase They say 52 million crypto owners could swing elections in battleground states.
A digital currency group funded a poll that suggested voters were overwhelmingly positive about crypto.
White says the methods of these surveys are flawed.
Funded by the Federal Reserve and a survey conducted by polling giant Ipsos, 7% of Americans will transact in crypto in 2023.
White called In what DCG found to be a “masterclass in spin,” the survey found that 69% of its respondents had a “very” or “somewhat” negative opinion of crypto.
It's an effective strategy, though — political candidates and journalists repeat these statistics uncritically, White said.
Politicians don't care too much
Both Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris have made statements encouraging crypto boosters.
White says there's little substance behind it, however. None of the candidates revealed a clear policy.
“Despite what the cryptocurrency industry wants everyone to believe, crypto is not really the first priority on the list of candidates,” she said.
“Geographically there's a lot going on right now.”
The campaigns did not mention crypto
Fairshake has funded attack ads against Democratic candidates Katie Porter and Jamal Bowman, both of whom ran unsuccessfully for Congress this year.
There is none These ads Mention the candidates' strong anti-crypto stance, instead choosing to attack them for ethical violations.
Because campaigners know voters don't care, Whitela said.
“Not only that, but a lot of people are actually turned off by crypto,” she said.
“If they see an ad that says, 'Your representative is going to fight for crypto,' what are they going to do? Why are they spending their time on it? There are so many local issues that are important to me.
Check out my long interview with White News.
Reach me at [email protected].
