Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen Donates XRP to Harris Campaign, Outshining Trump Crypto Donations

This one was controversial, especially for the XRP community.

So, Ripple co-founder and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen has made another significant political contribution, adding US$10M (AU$15M) in Ripple’s XRP token to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign. 

Trump’s campaign has received around US$7.5M (AU$11.2M) in crypto donations since June. Talk about lobbying.

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Crypto contributions primarily flow into super PACs, which, thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, can make unlimited independent expenditures without direct coordination with campaigns. These donations offer industry leaders a powerful tool for influencing elections, which is known as lobbying.

Larsen Contributes to Harris, CEO Garlinghouse Seeks to Engage with Both Parties

Federal Election Commission (FEC) data revealed that Larsen contributed nearly US$9.9M (AU$14.8M) to Future Forward in September, alongside over US$800K (AU$1.2M) to the Harris Victory Fund. 

These figures, compiled by blockchain analyst James Delmore and verified by CNBC, show Larsen’s growing financial support for Vice President Kamala Harris, as he believes she will “ensure that American technology dominates the world”.

Meanwhile, in a weird attempt to… maybe save face, Ripple’s current CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, said the company “will continue to engage with both Democrats and Republicans”. However, it was too late, as many of the reactions in the comment section criticised Larsen’s support of Harris.

With his earlier August donation of US$1M (AU$1.5M) in XRP tokens, Larsen has contributed over US$11.8M (AU$17.6M) to political action committees (PACs) backing Harris, positioning him as one of the top crypto industry donors this election cycle.

The crypto sector’s political donations have reached nearly US$190M (AU$285M) in the 2024 election cycle, with over US$130M (AU$190.3M) already directed toward congressional races. Although Larsen has focused on Harris and Democratic causes, it seems the industry as a whole has leaned more toward the Republicans. 

While Fairshake has avoided aligning exclusively with one party, many individual leaders in the crypto space have openly backed their presidential preferences. 

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Larsen’s support for Harris is countered by other crypto figures, such as Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell, who have shown support for Donald Trump. Notably, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of a16z also back Trump, although Horowitz has recently committed to donating to pro-Harris entities, citing a personal connection.