Ripple co-founder and chairman Chris Larsen donated 1,754,815.29 XRP (XRP), worth $1 million at the time of the donation, to the Harris-Walz 2024 presidential campaign, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
The donation was made to a political action committee (PAC) supporting Harris Future Forward on August 14, 2024, according to FEC filings. According to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, this represents the first documented cryptocurrency contribution to the Harris campaign.
In September, a Future Forward spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the PAC was accepting cryptocurrency donations from Harris. This was after false reports emerged that the campaign was directly receiving cryptocurrency campaign donations.
Future Forward has raised more than $200 million in donations as of October 2024, according to the FEC.
Chris Larsen donates XRP to Pro-Harris PAC. Source: Federal Election Commission
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Larsen and company executives pledge their support for Harris.
The Ripple Labs co-founder joined 87 other company executives in pledging support for Harris in a letter sent in September.
“With Kamala Harris in the White House, the business community can be confident that we will have a president who wants American industry to thrive.”
The letter’s signatories also asserted that “Vice President Harris has a strong record of advancing measures to promote business investment in the United States.”
Harris attempts to woo the cryptocurrency industry.
That same month, cryptocurrency industry advocacy groups and executives announced that they would raise $100,000 for Harris’ campaign to influence the vice president’s stance on U.S. digital asset policy.
Industry executives hoped the donation would distract Harris from his current hostility toward cryptocurrencies.
Following industry pressure and publicity, Harris finally broke her silence and released the first statement of her campaign on cryptocurrency policy. The Harris campaign released the following response in late September:
“We will work together to invest in America’s competitiveness and to invest in America’s future. “We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors.”
However, this statement does not represent a departure from current government policy. Parts of the response lifted almost literally from an earlier statement issued in May 2024 before the Biden administration rejected the bipartisan SAB-121 repeal later this month.
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