Regulation
Politicians are banking on cryptocurrencies to win elections. Do voters care? – DL News
- The cryptocurrency industry has poured money into campaign funding ahead of the November presidential election.
- Does the data support the idea that cryptocurrency voters will influence elections?
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Is there a large base of crypto voters that could influence the election?
Michelle Bond says yes.
A Republican running for Congress in 2022, Bond is using her experience to spearhead a voter registration program called Project Swing.
The project will use consumer data to identify cryptocurrency enthusiasts who are not registered to vote, send them targeted messages, and help them register.
“We are identifying and recruiting a whole new group of like-minded pro-crypto individuals,” he said.
“This is an untapped demographic in this country that has never been reached in this way.”
Pour money
Bond’s is just one of those attempts.
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The cryptocurrency industry, fed up with the frosty regulatory environment under President Joe Biden’s administration, has poured money into electing a Republican.
Blogger and cryptocurrency skeptic Molly White cryptocurrency funding tracker shows that cryptocurrency-focused political action committees have raised more than $182 million.
And it works. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is now backing the industry in his campaign.
And 14 pro-cryptocurrency lawmakers in the Democratic Party don’t want to miss out.
Friday, them solicited the Democratic National Convention to combat the perception that the party has a “negative view of digital assets.”
However, the jury is still out on whether cryptocurrencies, a relatively small sector, are more important to voters than abortion, immigration or the economy.
Bond argues, however, that cryptocurrencies are not separate from the big issues.
“A cryptocurrency voter will understand the interconnectedness of this issue with other issues that drive people to register and go to the polls,” he said.
“Cryptocurrencies are an important component of the key issues that voters care about: financial inclusion, jobs, and maintaining American dominance in technology and finance.
What does the data say?
Surveys funded by companies such as Monetary base, ParadigmAND Greyscale discover that crypto voters actually exist.
Skeptics like White downplay these figures.
For example, White indicates a survey of 1,200 voters in six swing states by Digital Currency Group.
According to the DCG, 21% of respondents believe that cryptocurrencies are an important election issue.
White said the broad wording of the question hides the fact that some in that group hold aggressive positions against the industry.
Or take Coinbase’s figureoften cited in the press, according to which 52 million Americans own cryptocurrencies.
In contrast, the Federal Reserve found that 7% of U.S. adults owned or used cryptocurrency in 2023. That’s about 23 million people.
The problem with surveys is that the data tends to reflect the opinions of those who pay for the research.
Even the most independent polls they are not great predictors of the elections.
Cryptocurrency industry surveys “are authentic, conducted by reputable polling companies,” researcher Noelle Acheson told me.
But, he added, “that doesn’t mean the results accurately reflect reality.”
Polls depend on sample size, demographics, geographic location and timing, he said.
Still, it’s useful research, especially since “there’s not yet a lot of data on the issue of political support,” Acheson said.
Contact me at joanna@dlnews.com.