According to Elon Musk, X suffered a DDoS attack just before a scheduled interview with presidential candidate Donald Trump. Despite technical difficulties, the interview still proceeded. Meanwhile, polls show increasing support for cryptocurrency among Democratic voters, and Kamala Harris could potentially benefit from this trend. In Texas, Senator Ted Cruz received endorsement from the Texas Blockchain Council for his pro-crypto stance, while Republican John Deaton is gaining financial backing from crypto PACs in his Massachusetts Senate race.
Musk Battles DDoS Attack Ahead of Trump Interview
X owner Elon Musk claimed the social media platform suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack just as his scheduled interview with presidential candidate Donald Trump was about to begin. Musk announced the attack on X on Aug. 12, and stated that efforts were underway to shut it down.
A DDoS attack disrupts service by overwhelming it with excessive traffic, which then prevents legitimate users from accessing it. The technical difficulties as a result of the attack interfered with the X Space where Musk and Trump were set to hold their interview at 8:00 pm ET. Many users reported being unable to join, and the stream was labeled as “not available.”
However, around 120,000 users still managed to access the stream. According to Musk, the system was tested earlier in the day with 8 million concurrent listeners.
Despite the challenges, Musk started the interview shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET and explained that it will proceed with a smaller live audience. He added that unedited audio will be posted immediately afterward. Musk believes that the attack was due to the massive opposition to what Trump had to say.
During the two-hour conversation, Trump discussed topics including an attempt on his life, illegal immigration, foreign relations, and criticized President Joe Biden and his rival, Kamala Harris. Interestingly, despite Trump’s pro-crypto stance and Musk’s liking for Dogecoin, cryptocurrency was not mentioned at all.
Betting on Polymarket certainly reflected the high expectations for Trump to mention “crypto” or “Bitcoin,” with bets totaling over $1 million. However, as the interview progressed without any mention of crypto, the odds quickly plummeted to a mere 1% by the end.
Before the interview, Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market chief, warned Musk in a letter that he has to comply with EU laws. In response, X CEO Linda Yaccarino criticized Breton's letter, and even called it an unprecedented attempt to extend European laws to US political activities. Yaccarino also pointed out that it patronizes European citizens by suggesting they cannot independently evaluate conversations and draw their own conclusions.
Poll Shows Democrats Embracing Crypto
A poll sponsored by venture capital firm Paradigm suggests that United States Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has a chance to appeal to crypto owners during her campaign. The poll was conducted by Mercury Analytics among 804 self-identified Democratic registered voters.
Democrats likely to buy crypto (Source: Paradigm)
The poll indicates that Vice President Harris could improve her chances of winning in November by focusing on crypto-focused voters. The data revealed that 27% of Democrats that were surveyed were somewhat or very likely to buy crypto in the next year.
The poll also found that close to 13% of Democrats were undecided or considering voting for Republican nominee Donald Trump or third-party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This suggests that Harris could potentially regain some support from these voters by distancing herself from the Biden administration's crypto policies, like those of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A very large portion of the surveyed Democrats shared concerns about financial privacy, particularly with regards to government oversight of transactions related to reproductive care. Since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion legality has become a huge election issue. More than 70% of respondents agreed that personal financial transactions should generally be private and should only be accessible to government agencies for specific reasons.
Respondents privacy concerns (Source: Paradigm)
The poll also indicated that while most Democrats do not currently hold crypto, digital assets are more popular among non-white voters. Additionally, around 80% of respondents believe it is important for the US to lead in high-tech software innovations like cryptocurrency and fintech.
According to Paradigm, this is a strong indication that Democratic voters support crypto innovation in America, despite the actions of some Biden administration officials. The firm also suggested that this could give confidence to Democratic members of Congress and the Harris campaign to still pursue reasonable legislation for crypto regulation.
There is just more than 80 days to go until the US presidential election, and the introduction of Harris to the campaign has attracted a lot of support from Democrat-leaning crypto industry leaders and lawmakers. Some of these people include House members, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci.
Texas Blockchain Council Backs Pro-Crypto Ted Cruz for Senate
Meanwhile, the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) endorsed incumbent Senator Ted Cruz for reelection to the United States Senate. In an Aug. 12 post on X, TBC President Lee Bratcher announced the endorsement as Cruz addressed a crowd at a Core Scientific mining facility in Denton, Texas.
Bratcher praised Cruz's understanding of Bitcoin as a tool for freedom and mining as a tool for grid stability. Cruz has served in the Senate since 2013, and has a strong belief in crypto. According to Cruz, "crypto is the future."
Cruz has spoken at a few TBC events, including the North American Blockchain Summit, where he talked about the benefits of Bitcoin mining for Texas's energy grid. Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto political initiative rated Cruz as "strongly" supportive of crypto, considering his congressional voting record and pro-crypto social media posts. In 2022, Cruz very publicly expressed his preference for Bitcoin, saying, "I like Bitcoin because the government can’t control it."
Cruz is a Republican, and is running for reelection against Democrat Colin Allred, Libertarian Ted Brown, and Democratic write-in candidate Tracy Andrus. An ActiVote poll from July 18 showed Cruz leading Allred by eight points.
The political landscape in Texas may be shifting after President Joe Biden announced that he will exit the presidential race. Polls suggest Harris may be ahead of Republican nominee Donald Trump in key battleground states.
Crypto PAC Spends $850K Backing John Deaton
Other politicians are also being welcomed with open arms by the crypto community. A political action committee (PAC) backed by crypto industry figures has spent $850,000 to support Republican candidate John Deaton in the Massachusetts primary.
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Commonwealth Unity Fund Super PAC allocated $450,000 on a direct mail campaign for Deaton on Aug. 7 and more than $500,000 on a media buy on Aug. 6. In July, the PAC also spent $300,000 on a media placement.
Deaton is one of three Republicans vying to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate beginning in 2025, and he has gotten a lot of support from the crypto sector. Ripple announced in July that it will contribute $1 million to the Commonwealth Unity Fund to help Deaton in his bid to unseat Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has held the position since 2013. Additionally, Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss donated $6,600 each to Deaton’s campaign in April, and pledged a combined $1 million in July.
On July 31, FEC records showed that Deaton raised about $1.7 million, with around $1 million in cash on hand. In contrast, Senator Warren raised about $6.4 million since January of 2023, with roughly $4.9 million in cash on hand.
The Massachusetts primary on Sept. 3 is set to be a key battleground for crypto-related campaign funding in U.S. elections. On Aug. 6, several U.S. House candidates backed by the Fairshake Super PAC and its affiliates secured primary victories after a combined $4 million in media buys.
Deaton is a lawyer who has filed amicus briefs in support of crypto firms in legal actions against the SEC, and launched his Senate campaign in February. However, support for Deaton in the crypto industry is not unanimous. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a well known supporter of Bitcoin and digital assets, endorsed Republican Ian Cain over Deaton in July, mostly due to Cain’s understanding of the digital economy and his support for innovation.
June polls indicated that Senator Warren led her Republican challengers, including Cain and Deaton, by at least 20 points. Warren is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
