Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen Donates $1m to pro-Harris PAC

Fox Business’ Eleanor Terrett was the first to break the news on Twitter/X, posting that Larsen’s donation was the only documented crypto donation made to Harris so far.  

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Ripple co-founder contributed 1,754,815.29 XRP on August 14, valued at around $1 million at the time of the donation. The funds were sent to the Future Forward PAC, a Democratic super PAC that aims to elect Harris. 

For those unfamiliar with the US election process, a political action committee (PAC) is a group that raises money to support or oppose political candidates, legislation, or ballot initiatives. In this case, the Future Forward PAC is a Super PAC, which means it can accept unlimited contributions and spend unlimited amounts to advocate for Kamala Harris’ candidacy, as long as it does not coordinate directly with her campaign. While there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Super PACs, mostly concerning their conflict with campaign contribution restrictions and them hiding the true source of contributions from the dark money organizations, their influence on the outcome of the election is undeniable. 

As of August 31, Future Forward has raised over $200 million, according to data from Open Secrets. The PAC has received donations from the former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, and crypto exchange Coinbase over the last year. 

The PAC initially supported Joe Biden’s reelection, but now is backing Kamala Harris after Biden announced his withdrawal and endorsed Harris. Larsen also contributed to Biden’s campaign, donating $250,000 to Future Forward in November 2023. The PAC has an agreement with Coinbase Commerce that immediately converts all crypto contributions to USDC stablecoin to reduce volatility. 

The crypto Twitter/X reaction to the news of Ripple exec donating to Harris’ campaign was predictably mixed. Some wondered whether that would mean that Harris accepted unregistered security for her cause, to which Eleanor Terrett clarified that Larsen’s XRP wasn’t a direct campaign contribution but the money that Future Forward would spend on pro-advertising for her and anti-advertising against Trump. 

Then there were critical voices that condemned Larsen’s contribution to Democrats as enemies of crypto, recalling Biden SEC’s lawsuits against some of the major players in the crypto industry. Others, however, were quick to point out that it was Trump’s SEC that sued Ripple for $2 billion in 2020.

While it may appear from a glance on Twitter/X that crypto is overwhelmingly pro-Trump, the reality is more nuanced. Although the Republican nominee has made a slew of big promises to the industry, such as supporting Bitcoin miners, firing SEC’s Chair Gary Gensler, creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and stopping the development of CBDCs, the corporate executives aren’t betting on one horse. In September, Larsen co-signed a letter endorsing Harris for president alongside 87 other signatories that included Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of the enterprise cloud company Box, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, Snap chairman Michael Lynton, and former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch. 

In early August, it became known that former Ripple board member Gene Sperling left his advisory position at Joe Biden’s administration to join Kamala Harris’ campaign. It’s unclear whether his current role is somehow related to crypto and blockchain. 

Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted that Gary Gensler will have to step down, no matter the outcome of the elections. “I’ll make a gentleman’s bet that won’t happen,” Garlinghouse said during a press conference in Seoul reflecting on the possibility of the SEC Chair’s extended tenure. 

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is yet to clarify her attitude toward cryptocurrencies. However, during a New York City fundraiser on September 22, she briefly mentioned plans to “encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets.” This marked her first and only public comment on crypto as a presidential candidate—so maybe crypto donations will tip the scale and help Harris to take a more defined and favorable stance on the matter. Or so crypto execs hope.