Ripple co-founder: Harris will have ‘completely different approach’ to crypto

Chris Larsen, one of the co-founders and chair of payments firm Ripple, who has donated millions of dollars to support Kamala Harris for President of the United States, explained his endorsement for the Democratic candidate came down to crypto policy.

In an Oct. 28 interview with CNBC, Larsen said he believed that regardless of whether Vice President Harris or Republican Donald Trump wins in 2024, the “war on crypto is over.” The Ripple co-founder added he was supporting Harris because he was “really excited by her economic message” of encouraging US-based innovation, citing her roots in the tech hubs of the Bay Area.

“I’m just really, really confident that this is going to be a completely different approach than — I’ll just say it — the failed policy that the Biden administration brought when it came to crypto and digital assets,” said Larsen. “Because, frankly, I think they just weren’t paying attention, and they sort of outsourced it to Senator Warren, and it was a disaster. But that is not going to be how the Harris campaign approaches this. I’m extremely confident in that.”

Crypto influencing presidential and congressional elections?

The Ripple co-founder has contributed roughly $12 million to political action committees (PACs) supporting Harris, making the bulk of his contributions in XRP. His public contributions put him far ahead of announced support from crypto industry leaders like Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who contributed roughly $2 million to PACs supporting Trump.

Many of the contributions from the crypto industry — either through PACs or directly from executives — have gone to support congressional candidates in the 2024 election cycle. Fairshake, a PAC primarily backed by Coinbase and Ripple, has spent millions on media buys to support and oppose candidates in the House and Senate for what are expected to be extremely close races. 

Related: Crypto PAC’s final media buys before US Election Day go to Wisconsin

“What I saw was all the donations [from Fairshake] going on the Republican side,” said Larsen. “But a Harris administration has also made it very clear that this is going to be a very different approach, going to be a reset. I think it’s actually good for the industry to have that bipartisan support and weight. What I did there now [supporting Harris] kind of equals that out.”

Fairshake and its affiliate PACs, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, have supported Democratic candidates across the country, but most media buys have gone toward Republicans.

Some of the most significant elections involving crypto PACs include the Massachusetts Senate race between Republican John Deaton and Democrat Elizabeth Warren and the Ohio Senate race between Republican Bernie Moreno and Democrat Sherrod Brown, the chair of the Senate Banking Committee.

As of Oct. 29, many polls showed that Trump and Harris were neck and neck in crucial battleground states that could determine the winner of an Electoral College vote.

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