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Crypto firms flood PACs with donations in hope candidates will relax regulations

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Crypto firms flood PACs with donations in hope candidates will relax regulations

Cryptocurrency companies have accounted for nearly half of all corporate donations during the 2024 presidential election – provoking critics to cry foul over the industry’s growing influence, according to a report.

Crypto corporations dished out more than $119 million in political donations, mostly into a non-partisan super PAC focused on electing pro-crypto candidates, according to a report by nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen released Wednesday.

Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange platform in the US, was the biggest donor in the industry – flooding PACs with $50.5 million, according to the report.

Blockchain company Ripple came in a close second place, donating $48 million, the report said.

The two crypto giants — both of which have been substantially scrutinized by the SEC — contributed 80% of the industry’s total donations.

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Crypto corporations accounted for nearly half of all corporate donations this election cycle, according to a new report. REUTERS

Crypto investors are hoping pro-crypto candidates across the political spectrum will win seats in the upcoming elections and relax the strict industry regulations enforced under President Joe Biden’s administration. 

Even oil companies and banks – typically some of the largest election donors – have been beaten out by crypto this year.

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010 allowed corporations to donate limitless amounts of money into US elections. 

Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen and author of the report, told CNBC the outpouring of crypto donations used to “silence crypto’s critics and elevate its backers embodies everything that is wrong with the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision.”

Crypto accounts for 15% of all the disclosed contributions made since 2010 – despite the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, being created just the year before.

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More than 90% of total corporate crypto donations were made during this election cycle.

Most of the crypto donations funneled into Fairshake, a bipartisan pro-crypto super PAC focused on electing pro-crypto candidates across the spectrum to office.

Fairshake is one of the top-spending PACs this year, the report said.

Along with Coinbase and Ripple’s major contributions, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz donated $47 million and Jump Crypto gave $15 million to the PAC.

Wealthy investors like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the Winklevoss twins also donated millions of dollars to the crypto PAC, the report said.

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Fairshake, a bipartisan pro-crypto PAC, has raised $169 million this year, according to a report. AFP via Getty Images

Fairshake, along withs its two affiliate PACs, have raised about $169 million – and more than 90% of the contributions come from big corporations, according to the report.

Fairshake dispensed about $75 million in July and still has nearly $120 million left to dole out before the November election, according to Federal Election Commission filings seen by CNBC.

The pro-crypto PAC has pledged $25 million to 18 House candidates, split evenly among nine Democrats and nine Republicans, the non-profit report said.

It has committed $18 million to three Senate races, the report said.

The pro-crypto PAC has clinched wins in 36 of the 42 primary races it backed – without being loud about its cryptocurrency focus.

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Fairshake-backed political advertisements have not included an emphasis on cryptocurrency. REUTERS

Candidates’ political advertisements, sponsored by Fairshake, haven’t mentioned crypto at all. Instead, the ads discuss typical political talking points – probably because crypto is not the number one priority for the average voter.

“The sole reason crypto is a hot-button topic in this election cycle is that crypto businesses are spending eye-popping sums to make themselves impossible to ignore,” Claypool told CNBC.

Both former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been trying to stake their claim as the pro-crypto candidate in order to win over crypto bigwigs. 

Trump reversed his skeptic stance on crypto from 2019. 

Former president Donald Trump has tried to stake his claim as the pro-crypto presidential candidate. AP

So far this year, Trump launched a non-fungible token collection on the Solana blockchain, became the first major presidential nominee to accept donations in cryptocurrency and headlined the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

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The Republican nominee said he had raised $25 million in crypto donations as of the end of July.

Most recently, he promoted his family’s upcoming cryptocurrency platform called “The DeFiant Ones” in a Truth Social post on Thursday. 

Crypto investors seem to have placed their bets on Trump, as Bitcoin and crypto platform shares soared after he was shot in an assassination attempt – which voters assumed would help his odds of winning the presidency.

Bitcoin shares spiked again after Trump spoke at the Bitcoin Conference and pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.”

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) said a “sensible” crypto law could pass the Senate by the end of the year during a virtual town hall named “Crypto4Harris.”

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And on Tuesday, Harris’ campaign said she would support pro-crypto policies as president.

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Commentary: Crypto bill is bad for small businesses

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Commentary: Crypto bill is bad for small businesses

Small businesses have taken big financial hits over the past 12-plus months.

New tariffs have raised costs to small businesses that depend on importing products. The Iran war has caused the price of gas and diesel to skyrocket along with the cost of other goods small businesses need.

As a result, inflation is at 4.2 percent, decreasing consumer purchasing power, which lowers the essential sales that small businesses need to survive.

Now, the U.S. Senate is about to launch another attack on small businesses: the CLARITY Act. 

For more than 26 years I have represented small business interests at the state and national levels.

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One of the key ingredients to start and grow a small business is access to capital. Entrepreneurs either bring their own capital to the business or obtain a loan from a bank, credit union or Community Development Financial Institution, which serves low-income and underserved communities.

Traditional financial institutions make their loans from the deposits of customers, including small businesses. Community Development institutions are partially funded by these same financial institutions.

Now, the cryptocurrency companies want to drain banks, credit unions and CDFIs of the funds they lend to small businesses to start and grow.

Instead of putting money into local financial institutions with community-based loan officers making decisions about small business lending, crypto companies tout putting locally grown funds into private digital wallets. The benefits to small businesses, they claim, are faster and less expensive financial transactions (i.e., buying and selling) especially in the “global” economy.

More than 200 crypto companies say their crypto platforms, where the money in digital wallets is housed, will enable small business lending and borrowing.

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No need for local banks. Everyone with a crypto account can make loans to other entrepreneurs around the world who they will never meet. Likewise, decisions about obtaining a small business crypto loan will be made by those global digital wallet holders, probably with advice from artificial intelligence programs.

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Latam Insights: Inside Argentina’s Tax Relief for Exchanges and El Salvador’s Growing Bitcoin Stack

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Latam Insights: Inside Argentina’s Tax Relief for Exchanges and El Salvador’s Growing Bitcoin Stack

President Milei Exempts Registered Crypto Exchanges From Argentina’s ‘Cheque Tax’

President Javier Milei has issued an executive order declaring tax exemptions for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) registered in Argentina. The measure aims to increase the inclusion of crypto exchanges in the Argentine financial products market, leveling the playing field with traditional institutions.

The “debt and credit” tax, commonly known as “cheque” in Spanish, affected flows going in and out of crypto exchanges since November 2021, when former President Alberto Fernández issued executive order 796/2021, which included traditional banks in these exemptions but explicitly excluded operations involving crypto assets.

Executive Order 475/2026 extends these exemptions to VASPs, stating that it was necessary to “adapt the regulations applicable to certain actors in light of technological advances and the resulting new regulatory framework, and, on the other hand, to equalize the conditions of entities that—while carrying out activities of a similar nature—are subject to different tax treatment.”

Cuba Passes 176 Historic Reforms to Open Its Economy to Private Banks and Real Estate

On Thursday, the National Assembly of Cuba passed a set of 176 reforms to liberalize the Cuban economy, which has traditionally been state-driven, and to open several sectors, including the financial sector, to private capital.

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The changes would allow private investment to enter real estate development on the island, enabling the state to sell part of its properties to national and foreign individuals and institutions, walking back the state-ownership exclusivity characteristic of the communist model.

The existence of private banks, overseen by the state, would also be allowed under these new rules, as the rise of businesses in Cuba with over 100 employees. This would pave the way for the surge of large private companies.

El Salvador Adds to Bitcoin Reserve Again as Daily Buys Push Stack Past 7,680 BTC

El Salvador has once again added to its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, summing up its strategy in four words, i.e., “Buying the dip, every day.” The latest buy continues a routine that has become a defining feature of President Nayib Bukele’s economic policy.

The country’s reserve now stands at 7,687 BTC, valued at more than $510 million, according to recent counts. Bitcoin.com News reported that El Salvador has been treating market weakness as an invitation to add to its national stack, scooping up coins even as bitcoin slid close to $66,000.

Between January and April alone, authorities added more than 1,600 coins, consistent with a long-running policy of acquiring one bitcoin per day regardless of short-term volatility.

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Cryptocurrency News: Pepeto Nears Exchange Listing while the Cardano Price Prediction Could Flip After Hoskinson’s June Move

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Cryptocurrency News: Pepeto Nears Exchange Listing while the Cardano Price Prediction Could Flip After Hoskinson’s June Move

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

Pepeto moved into final preparation ahead of a major exchange listing, and the presale became the fastest closing raise of 2026 as rounds close inside days, because $10.29 million is raised, 170% APY staking runs live, three products are in production, and wallets are pouring in at a pace that tells the reader the sharpest capital has already locked the entry before the listing pulls the price out of reach forever.

The reason that capital is flowing this fast becomes clear the moment you check what the large caps are doing right now, since ADA is trading near six-year lows around $0.17 despite the highest stakes catalyst window in Cardano history, and every holder watching that gap should understand why the cardano price prediction and Pepeto keep landing together inside the same cryptocurrency news cycle this June.

Pepeto Exchange Listing Approaches While the Cardano Price Prediction Hangs on the June Rescue Plan

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Cardano just walked into the highest stakes quarter in its history because ADA dropped below $0.20 in over five years following Charles Hoskinson’s June 3 break announcement per Yahoo Finance, and the bleeding only stopped on June 18 when ADA touched a $0.148 six-year low while Hoskinson rolled out a 10% protocol revenue buyback plan per CoinDesk.

While the Ouroboros Leios testnet is set to launch on June 23 per CoinMarketCap and Grayscale’s ADA ETF window opens August 9, with the bull cardano price prediction stretching $0.30 to $0.37 and the bear path back toward $0.148.

But the data that actually matters is what failed to follow the catalysts, since ADA stays trapped near six-year lows while daily trading volume has collapsed from $6.3 billion to $500 million and total value locked across Cardano DeFi has dropped 85% from $905 million to $139 million, with capital now flowing toward projects shipping live products rather than those grinding through roadmap delays, because even if the full cardano price prediction plays out a 2x from $0.17 toward $0.37 cannot reshape any portfolio.

That is the reason holders chasing the heaviest upside are pairing their ADA position with the presale carrying the biggest math behind it, since Pepeto walking toward its exchange listing is pulling the heaviest capital in the market right now and keeps showing up next to ADA across every fresh round of cryptocurrency news.

Why Pepeto Is Catching the Attention Cardano Spent Seven Years Trying to Build

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The June 2026 data leaves ADA stuck in a sideways range while Pepeto keeps drawing serious money for reasons that run beyond community energy alone, because PepetoSwap runs as a zero-fee exchange across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana with AI scanning every token for risk patterns.

Holders get zero gas bridging and contract checks that lock dangerous tokens out, a former Binance developer built the engine, and the Pepe ecosystem cofounder who grew a token past $7 billion now leads the team.

The Pepe comparison keeps drawing the heaviest wallets to this presale because Pepe coin lifted early holders into millionaire territory without shipping a single product and grew to roughly $11 billion in market cap while the creator of that same token now leads Pepeto.

Since everything that lifted Pepe higher is in place alongside live trading tools, and a $5,000 entry into Pepe grew into $750,000 at the peak, leaving Pepeto as the second chance at that entry while the cardano price prediction sits stuck under a slow recovery path.

Conclusion

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The cardano price prediction and the upcoming Leios testnet both point toward a slow recovery and keeping ADA for stability is reasonable, but every cycle runs the same script because life-changing wealth never came from holding a large cap once the bottom held but from finding the right presale before anyone heard the name, and every signal in this cryptocurrency news cycle now leads to Pepeto as the single play of 2026.

The token remains in presale, and history proves entries placed before a token reaches an exchange carry the kind of returns holders chase for years, but presale windows are short and a simple decision to wait is how millions missed every cycle-defining entry and spent years hoping something this rare would appear again.

So once Pepeto hits a major exchange the entry closes the way Pepe coin pricing closed inside hours when the earliest wallets walked away with the returns the market still talks about today.

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

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What is the Cardano price prediction for 2026?

The cardano price prediction for 2026 targets $0.30 to $0.37 in the bull case per CoinDesk after Hoskinson’s June rescue plan, with $0.148 marking the six-year low.

Is Pepeto a stronger entry than Cardano right now?

Pepeto is a stronger entry than Cardano today because the presale opens access to a live exchange with a major listing approaching, while ADA at $0.17 offers limited multiplier room.

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