Chris Larsen, the co-founder and executive chair of payments firm Ripple, has donated $10 million to a political action committee (PAC) supporting Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election.
In an Oct. 21 X post, Larsen confirmed that he contributed $10 million in XRP to Future Forward USA, a Super PAC supporting the Democratic presidential candidate. The announced contribution followed the Ripple co-founder donating $1 million to Future Forward in August — one of the first significant crypto contributions supporting Vice President Harris’ candidacy.
“It’s time for the Democrats to have a new approach to tech innovation, including crypto,” said Larsen on X. “I believe [Kamala Harris] will ensure that American technology dominates the world, which is why I’m donating $10M in XRP in support of her.”
Source: Chris Larsen
According to Open Secrets, Future Forward has raised more than $200 million to support Harris against Donald Trump. Since calling Bitcoin (BTC) a “scam,” the Republican candidate has claimed he intends to support crypto miners, oppose issuing a central bank digital currency, and fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler if reelected.
In response to Larsen’s donation, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company “will continue to engage with both Democrats and Republicans” supporting pro-crypto policies in Congress. However, many of the reactions on X seemed to criticize the Ripple co-founder’s support of Vice President Harris, framing digital assets as a partisan issue.
Crypto money in politics
During the 2024 election season, crypto interest groups and pro-crypto individuals have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support political candidates running for seats in the US House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency. Though Larsen has also contributed to a PAC supporting Republican Senate candidate John Deaton, this was before US President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and pledged to support Harris.
Crypto-backed Super PACs like Fairshake and its affiliates Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs have supported Democratic and Republican candidates through media buys for both primaries and the general election set for Nov. 5. At the time of publication, many polls showed the presidential race was a virtual coin flip between Vice President Harris and Trump.
Before election day, Cointelegraph is profiling some politicians running for the US House of Representatives and Senate in its ‘Better Know a Crypto Candidate’ series.
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