According to a study by Social Capital Markets on September 8, lobbying spending in the U.S. cryptocurrency industry has soared since 2017, up 1,386% over the past seven years, with nearly 60% of spending (about $79 million out of about $132 million) occurring in the past two years.
Coinbase’s spending on lobbying the U.S. government for specific policy actions favorable to its agenda grew 3,475%, from $80,000 in 2017 to $2.9 million in 2023. About 74% of Coinbase’s lobbying spending occurred in the last two years (2022 and 2023).
Binance.US’s cryptocurrency lobbying spending increased by 656.3% from $160,000 in 2021 to $1.2 million in 2023, while Ripple’s spending increased by 1,780% from 2017 to 2023, from $50,000 to $940,000.
The increase in lobbying spending comes at a time when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed multiple enforcement actions against a number of industry companies, including Coinbase and Ripple.
The report notes that BlackRock is the most prominent U.S. company lobbying for a Bitcoin ETF.
As the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock has used its enormous influence and resources to push for the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, especially through its lobbying efforts for the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). (DL News)
