Pro-crypto attorney John Deaton secured the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts after a decisive primary victory. Deaton, a vocal advocate for Ripple (XRP), received major backing from some well known people in the crypto industry. Meanwhile, Trump family members’ X accounts were hacked to promote a fraudulent token tied to World Liberty Financial. Additionally, a new poll shows very strong support for Donald Trump among crypto owners.
John Deaton Triumphs in Massachusetts
Pro-crypto attorney John Deaton secured the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts after a decisive win in the primary election. Deaton is a former Marine and a very outspoken advocate for Ripple (XRP). He defeated two other Republican candidates, including industrial engineer Bob Antonellis and Quincy city council president Ian Cain. With 64% of the votes counted so far, Deaton will now face off against Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in the November election.
Massachusetts live voting results (Source: Politico)
Warren is seeking a third term, and is notorious for her critical stance on the crypto industry. She has proposed several bills that are aimed at restricting digital asset growth in the United States because of concerns ranging from terrorism to drug abuse. As an influential member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Warren has been a big advocate in the push for tighter regulations on the crypto industry.
Deaton’s campaign received some major backing from key people in the crypto sector, including the Winklevoss twins and executives from Ripple. The Commonwealth Unity Fund, which is a crypto political action committee, contributed more than $1 million to support Deaton's Senate bid.
Some of Deaton’s other top donors include Ripple executives Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson, and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell. By July 31, Deaton raised close to $1.7 million for his Senate campaign.
Despite his strong ties to the crypto industry, Deaton made no specific mention of crypto in his victory speech, which was posted on social media. Earlier this year, Deaton also filed an amicus brief on behalf of thousands of Coinbase customers in support of the firm in its legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Trump Family X Accounts Hacked
In other crypto-political news, the X accounts of Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, and Tiffany Trump, daughter of Donald Trump, were hacked on Tuesday evening to promote a token that is allegedly tied to World Liberty Financial, an upcoming crypto project recently promoted by the Trump family. The hacked accounts posted what they claimed to be the "only official" blockchain addresses for World Liberty Financial, with Lara Trump stating that the project’s goal is to use the governance token, $WL, on Solana to support a DeFi lending protocol.
Shortly after these posts were made, Eric Trump announced on X that the profiles of Lara and Tiffany were compromised. He also warned followers that the addresses were a scam. World Liberty Financial also issued an alert confirming the hacks and urged people to avoid any links or tokens that were shared from the compromised accounts.
This incident was at least the third time a token purportedly linked to Donald Trump has surfaced. Previously, a DJT token was promoted by convicted fraudster Martin Shkreli, who claimed it was launched with Barron Trump and other developers, though no Trump family member confirmed that they were actually involved. Another project, Restore the Republic (RTR), briefly reached a $155 million valuation before collapsing.
The hacks happened just hours after details were shared about World Liberty Financial that described it as a borrowing-and-lending DeFi platform planning to issue a token called WLFI. While the project does not yet have an official launch date, the white paper indicated that Donald Trump will serve as the "chief crypto advocate." It also includes roles for Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron Trump.
Crypto Owners Favor Trump
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s outreach to the crypto community seems to be working, according to a new poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University. The poll was released on Aug. 30, and found that a big number of crypto holders are inclined to vote for Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Among crypto holders, 50% expressed their support for Trump, while only 38% preferred Harris. For non-crypto owners, the numbers are reversed, with Harris leading by 12 points. Among this group, 53% stated they would vote for Harris, and 41% favored Trump more.
Poll results (Source: Fairleigh Dickinson University)
The poll’s findings reflect Trump’s attempts to appeal to the crypto industry, which seem to be paying off. Dan Cassino, a professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson, shared that while crypto owners might seem like a small demographic, their influence could be much larger than many realize because of the growing prevalence of crypto ownership.
The poll surveyed over 800 registered voters nationwide, and found that 15% of respondents either currently own or have previously owned cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This percentage is in line with other recent surveys.
According to the poll, crypto owners tend to be young men and members of racial minority groups, with 13% of White voters reporting crypto ownership, compared to 17% of Black voters and 22% of Hispanic voters.
Poll results (Source Fairleigh Dickinson University)
Historically, Republicans have struggled to attract young people and voters of color, but support for crypto could serve as a wedge issue that helps Republicans win over these groups. Additionally, the cryptocurrency industry has been contributing heavily to political action committees (PACs) during this election cycle. Companies like Coinbase and Ripple have been top contributors. In fact, almost half of all corporate contributions to PACs come from crypto firms.
Paul Grewal Sees Pro-Crypto Congress Emerging
Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, is optimistic about the engagement of both major U.S. presidential candidates with the crypto industry in the 2024 election. In a Sept. 3 interview with Bloomberg, Grewal said that Coinbase has been in contact with representatives from both Harris’ and Trump’s campaigns. While Trump’s campaign was clear in its support for pro-crypto policies, Harris’ team also showed an open-minded approach to digital assets.
Despite the current administration’s regulatory actions, particularly through SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Grewal was encouraged by discussions with the Harris campaign about a potential new approach to crypto regulation.
Grewal’s interview with Bloomberg (Source: Blooomberg)
Grewal also pointed out that leadership changes in the SEC and crypto legislation, like the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, were key concerns for the industry. The FIT21 Act, passed by the House in May, is pending Senate approval and could bring some long awaited regulatory clarity to the sector.
Grewal predicted that a pro-crypto Congress will very likely emerge, regardless of the outcome of individual races or the presidential election. He is hopeful that progress on legislation will continue throughout the fall, with bipartisan support for policies that offer structure and certainty to the industry.
