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Crypto companies are burning a lot of cash this election. By one count, they've spent nearly $120 million in federal races alone on both Democrats and Republicans. In the presidential campaign, the industry sees former President Donald Trump as a crypto convert. NPR financial correspondent Maria Aspan reports.
MARIA ASPAN, BYLINE: Three years ago, former President Trump was pretty clear on his feelings about cryptocurrency.
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DONALD TRUMP: Bitcoin - it just seems like a scam.
ASPAN: That was Trump on Fox News in 2021. But by this summer, he was saying something else.
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TRUMP: Hello, Bitcoiners. Thank you very much. Hello. It's good to be with you.
ASPAN: That was Trump speaking to a big Bitcoin conference in July, as he runs again for the presidency. And this time, he's running on a very pro-cryptocurrency platform.
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TRUMP: This afternoon, I'm laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world, and we'll get it done.
ASPAN: He's gotten a lot of endorsements and millions of dollars of donations from crypto investors and founders. Last week, Trump went a step further and joined them. He and his sons are launching a new crypto business called World Liberty Financial. They haven't given a lot of details about the company, and spokespeople for both Trump's campaign and World Liberty Financial did not respond to requests for comment. But critics say it would raise conflicts of interest for Trump if he wins the presidency and then is able to appoint officials to oversee the industry. Danielle Brian runs the nonprofit, nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight.
DANIELLE BRIAN: He's going to be in a position by who he appoints to be on these commissions, and whether they have sort of an alignment in his business interests to help his company do well and avoid obviously those regulations.
ASPAN: That's exactly why many crypto donors are pouring money into this election. But now Vice President Kamala Harris is also chasing the crypto vote. At a fundraiser this weekend, she signaled more support for what she called, quote, "innovative technologies," including digital currencies. Now, with 40 days until the election, the fight for crypto's support and its dollars is only heating up.
Maria Aspan, NPR News, New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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