PiCK
Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen Donated More Than $22 Million to US Midterm Races, Criticizes Industry Super PAC
Summary
- Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen said he donated $22 million to US political groups and at least $22.5 million to midterm candidates and super PACs.
- Larsen criticized crypto-industry super PAC Fairshake for trying to unseat Brown, calling it "a very wrong decision," and said he put $4 million behind Brown's campaign.
- Ripple, however, has contributed a cumulative $93 million to Fairshake, and said any decision on additional funding will be made by CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Chris Larsen, Ripple's co-founder and chairman, has donated more than $22 million to US political groups, according to a Bloomberg interview.
In the interview, published on October 9, Larsen said he had contributed at least $22.5 million of his own money to candidates and super PACs in this midterm election cycle. He has long been a major donor in San Francisco-area politics.
Larsen said he plans to expand his political involvement. "To engage effectively in politics and policy, you have to stay involved through every election cycle," he said.
He also broke with the crypto industry's political spending strategy. After Fairshake, a crypto-industry super PAC, said it would spend $30 million to defeat Brown, the Democratic Senate candidate from Ohio, Larsen put $4 million of his own money behind Brown within days.
Larsen called Fairshake's decision "a very wrong decision." Brown, he said, is "not anti-crypto," and treating him like figures such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren would be a mistake.
Ripple, however, has contributed a cumulative $93 million to Fairshake. Along with Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, Ripple is one of the group's main corporate backers.
Ripple is reviewing whether to provide additional funding to Fairshake. A Ripple representative said the final decision will be made by CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
