Mining executives create group to sway American cryptocurrency voters

Three top-level executives from major cryptocurrency mining companies in the United States have come together to establish a nonprofit organization focused on educating voters about Bitcoin (
BTC
).
Jayson Browder, the senior vice president of government affairs at Marathon Digital Holdings, shared with Cointelegraph that he, along with executives from Riot Platforms and CleanSpark, are the board members of the newly formed Bitcoin Voter Project. The organization has been registered as a 501(c)(4) in the United States.
In contrast to political action committees (PACs), 501(c)(4) organizations are not allowed to primarily support a specific candidate or political party. The launch of the voting project happened shortly after representatives from Marathon, CleanSpark, TeraWulf, and Riot met with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who expressed his desire for all remaining Bitcoin mining to be conducted in the USA.
Browder mentioned that the voting project has been in the works for a while and was originally planned to be unveiled before the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. He clarified that the timing of the Trump meeting and the project launch was coincidental, emphasizing the nonpartisan nature of the organization. The main goal is to reach out to voters who may not be familiar with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and eventually support lawmakers and relevant policies in Congress.
At this stage, the Bitcoin Voter Project is not endorsing any specific candidates. Browder mentioned that the project has approximately $5 million allocated for research and voter education, with the ultimate aim of mobilizing voters to support candidates who back digital assets. Unlike Stand With Crypto, a PAC launched by Coinbase in 2023, the Bitcoin Voter Project website does not currently list any particular candidate or crypto-related legislation.
“We’re taking a different approach [than Stand with Crypto], which is how do we identify potential voters and how do we engage with them and how do we educate them,” said Browder. “Further down the road, once we have educated and identified these voters and they’re engaged with us, there becomes an opportunity to do what Coinbase and them are doing, which is to influence political elections.”
Although it is unlikely that single-issue crypto voters will make up a significant portion of the electorate in 2024, the potential to impact the outcome of an election by drawing votes from major party candidates exists due to the Electoral College system in many U.S. states. Various crypto advocacy groups, including the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Texas Blockchain Council, have expressed their support for the Bitcoin Voter Project. The organization has already attracted hundreds of sign-ups as of June 14.
The upcoming debate between President Biden and Trump on June 27 will mark their first face-to-face meeting since the 2020 election. Other potential presidential candidates in 2024 that voters may consider include Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Libertarian Chase Oliver.
Magazine:
Crypto voters are already making waves in the 2024 election — and the impact is set to continue.