Mining execs establish organization to influence US crypto voters

Three executives representing some of the largest cryptocurrency mining companies in the United States have helped launch a nonprofit organization to educate voters on Bitcoin (BTC). 

Jayson Browder, the senior vice president of government affairs at mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings, told Cointelegraph that he and two executives from Riot Platforms and CleanSpark formed the board members of the Bitcoin Voter Project. Browder said the group was registered as a 501(c)(4) in the United States.

In contrast to a political action committee (PAC), organizations registered under a 501(c)(4) cannot primarily support one candidate or political party. The launch of the voting project came less than 24 hours after different representatives from Marathon, CleanSpark, TeraWulf and Riot met with former U.S. President Donald Trump, which led to the recently convicted felon wanting “all the remaining Bitcoin mining to be made in the USA.”

According to Browder, the voting project was “a long time in the making” but intended to launch before the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. He added that the Trump meeting had not been planned to coincide with the launch, describing the organization as “nonpartisan” and aimed to identify voters who might not be aware of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. They eventually planned to support lawmakers and related policies in Congress.

Not yet recommending specific candidates

The Marathon executive said the project had roughly $5 million available in phases for research and voter education but eventually wanted to “[turn] these voters out to support candidates that support digital assets.” In contrast to Stand With Crypto — a PAC launched by Coinbase in 2023 — the Bitcoin Voter Project’s website listed no specific candidate or crypto-related legislation at the time of publication. Other crypto-focused PACs like Fairshake and its affiliates have directly supported political candidates from both parties running in 2024 primaries.

“We’re taking a different approach [than Stand with Crypto], which is how do we identify potential voters and how do we engage with them and how do we educate them,” said Browder. “Further down the road, once we have educated and identified these voters and they’re engaged with us, there becomes an opportunity to do what Coinbase and them are doing, which is to influence political elections.”

Related: Crypto is ‘top of mind for voters’ in US swing states — Harris Poll

It’s unlikely that single-issue crypto voters will make up a significant percentage of the electorate in 2024. However, due to the Electoral College “winner-take-all” system in many U.S. states, an issue that can influence tens of thousands of voters has the potential to change the outcome of an election by drawing votes from the major party candidates — in this case, presumed to be Trump and President Joe Biden.

Many representatives of crypto advocacy groups, including Perianne Boring of the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Texas Blockchain Council, have already offered their support for the Bitcoin Voter Project. As of June 14, the group reported hundreds of people had signed up.

President Biden and Trump are scheduled to debate each other on June 27, the first time the two have met face-to-face since the 2020 election. Other presidential candidates voters may consider in 2024 include Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Libertarian Chase Oliver. 

Magazine: Crypto voters are already disrupting the 2024 election — and it’s set to continue