Lobbying

Crypto Regula

2026-10-01 01:17:46

Crypto industry spent over $13 million on lobbying in H1 2026 as CLARITY Act failed and election focus shifted

A CoinDesk review of U.S. federal lobbying disclosures found that the crypto industry spent more than $13 million on lobbying in the first half of 2026, with about $8 million tied to efforts to advance the CLARITY Act. The market structure bill then failed a Senate procedural vote on Sept. 15 by a 49-50 margin. After that setback, Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto shifted attention toward the November midterm elections and on Sept. 30 released its first slate of Senate endorsements. The group backed Jon Husted in Ohio, Ashley Hinson in Iowa, and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, while also naming House candidates Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Shomari Figures and saying it would add advertising in six House races. CoinDesk’s analysis also showed Coinbase spent about $2.2 million lobbying for the bill, Kraken spent close to $1 million, and outside lobbying work was spread across at least 42 firms. At the same time, industry groups said some resources are now being redirected toward engagement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

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crypto indust

2026-09-30 17:19:33

Crypto industry spent $13 million on lobbying in H1 as Clarity Act stalled in the Senate

The crypto industry spent $13 million on lobbying in the first half of the year, with the largest share of that money directed toward efforts to advance the Clarity Act. The bill did not move forward in the U.S. Senate, according to information cited by CoinDesk and carried by Odaily. Coinbase led the related lobbying spending, while a number of crypto companies and industry associations also hired lobbyists. Beyond direct lobbying activity, the industry paid millions of dollars in service fees to at least 42 outside professional firms. The figures point to a broad and organized push around federal legislation, even though the Clarity Act failed to gain traction in the Senate during the period covered.

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cryptocurrenc

2026-09-30 17:23:43

Crypto industry spent over $13 million in H1 2026, with about $8 million directed at lobbying for the CLARITY Act

Data cited by ChainCatcher shows that the cryptocurrency industry spent more than $13 million in total during the first half of 2026. Of that amount, about $8 million was specifically allocated to lobbying efforts tied to the CLARITY Act. Even with that level of spending, the bill has still not passed the Senate. The figures point to a concentrated push around a single piece of legislation, with a large share of the industry’s spending aimed at advancing the CLARITY Act. ChainCatcher did not provide more detail in the brief on the underlying dataset, the entities involved, or the breakdown of the remaining spending. For now, the central takeaway is straightforward: lobbying around the bill drew substantial funding in the first six months of 2026, but that spending has not yet translated into Senate passage.

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OpenAI

2026-09-06 04:14:59

OpenAI Hires Schumer's Daughter and GOP Veteran to Focus on State AI Policies

OpenAI has hired three new state-level policy directors, including Jessica Schumer, the daughter of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Caulder Harvill-Childs, a former Meta public policy staffer who worked for a Republican Georgia House Speaker. The third hire is Thomas MacLellan, a cybersecurity policy expert from Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, and FireEye. This move is part of OpenAI's strategy to influence AI regulation at the state level, aiming to create a de facto national standard through a "reverse federalism" approach. The company says California, New York, and Illinois have already begun to align on frontier AI safety rules.

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cryptocurrenc

2026-09-04 11:16:43

Crypto Firms Lobby SEC to Expedite ETF Review, Grayscale Seeks 45-Day Response

Multiple crypto firms are lobbying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to accelerate the ETF review process and allow the submission of confidential draft filings, according to The Block. Grayscale specifically asked the SEC staff to commit to responding within 45 days. However, Jane Street and Charles Schwab expressed reservations, voicing concerns about rushing the listing process and the confidential filing mechanism.

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US midterms

2026-09-01 06:13:11

Crypto Industry Pours About $200M Into 2026 Midterms, Pushes CLARITY Act

The crypto industry has become one of the largest sources of political funding for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, having injected about $200 million into the current cycle so far. Ripple, Coinbase, the Winklevoss brothers and Crypto.com combined for roughly $202 million in contributions, aiming to back candidates who favor digital assets. The sector is also pushing the CLARITY Act, a bill designed to create a broader regulatory framework for digital assets. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, crypto companies have spent more than $225 million on lobbying efforts. The legislation has cleared the House of Representatives but is meeting resistance in the Senate. Daily Wire first reported the figures, and Techub News relayed the story. The report places the industry among the top financial backers of the 2026 cycle.

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Policy and Re

2026-08-16 13:15:26

Bank lobbying groups renew objections to stablecoin yield compromise in Clarity Act

A dispute over whether stablecoin users should be allowed to receive rewards has resurfaced, adding uncertainty to a compromise tied to the Clarity Act. The crypto industry had previously viewed the issue as settled, but bank lobbying groups have pushed back again, reopening the debate. Banks argue that if stablecoins offer yields that compete with interest paid on deposit accounts, depositors could shift funds away from the banking system and into stablecoins. Crypto lobbyists, however, say that argument has clear flaws. They point to the current rate environment, noting that bank deposit rates are already lower than in the past, yet there has not been a large-scale flight of depositors. They also argue that the lending business banks often emphasize now makes up a shrinking share of their highly profitable operating model. According to CoinDesk, those competing views have left the related compromise under the Clarity Act facing fresh uncertainty.

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Artificial In

2026-08-07 15:31:54

Pro-AI Super PAC Raises $140M for 2026, Nearing Crypto's $200M Campaign Spending

According to BlockBeats, Reuters reported on August 7 that Leading the Future, a super political action committee backing artificial intelligence, has raised $140 million for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. The committee's funding comes mainly from executives at OpenAI and Palantir Technologies, as well as from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. That total approaches the $200 million that the cryptocurrency industry spent on campaign efforts in the previous election cycle. In contrast with the crypto camp, which faced almost no meaningful opposition at that time, the AI side is now meeting strong resistance from a coalition led by Anthropic. Anthropic has donated $20 million to the lobbying group Public First Action on two separate occasions, for a combined $40 million. Public First Action, together with affiliated organizations, has put approximately $80 million into efforts to 'mitigate major risks of artificial intelligence.' BlockBeats relayed this Reuters dispatch on August 7.

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