[Cryptocurrency is becoming political, and Ethereum giant Consensys wants to stay out of it]
As cryptocurrencies become a controversial issue in the 2024 presidential election, with Trump voicing support for the industry and President Joe Biden threatening to roll back laws protecting the industry, U.S. cryptocurrency companies are backing efforts across the country. Pro-crypto candidate.
Companies such as Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz and Ripple Labs have invested tens of millions of dollars to influence Senate and House elections. At the same time, cryptocurrency leaders are also beginning to publicly support Trump, something that would have been unthinkable four years ago.
Yet amid the cryptocurrency industry’s rise as a U.S. election fundraising force, $7 billion ethereum software giant Consensys has chosen to stay away from partisan politics.
Consensys founder and CEO Joe Lubin said the company’s decision not to support pro-cryptocurrency candidates in the 2024 elections is a deliberate choice to ensure the long-term success of the cryptocurrency industry.
"Politically, we like to be neutral. There's no reason for us to choose a bankrupt party," Lubin told Decrypt.
Lubin believes that relying on the courts to solidify industry legitimacy is more sustainable in the long term than relying on party support. "We should rely on the courts to resolve all these issues," he added.
Last month, Consensys filed a precautionary lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), arguing that the regulator did not have the authority to treat ether as a security, a position it had held in secret for more than a year.
"The lawsuit with the SEC is a great platform for us to help people understand the benefits of technology," Lubin said. "I don't think we need political bias or political donations to speak very clearly and loudly on this issue." the sound of."
That doesn’t mean Lubin eschews politics entirely. Instead, he said Consensys regularly meets behind closed doors with politicians and regulators to discuss the importance of cryptocurrencies to the future of the United States.
The point is, the purpose of these conversations is to create broad consensus around cryptocurrencies.
“We may not be visible, but we’re doing things,” Lubin said of Consensys’ political operations.
