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Crypto came with the promise of bringing decentralization, touting to give the whole power to the users. It delivered on its promise to a large extent but the issues arose regarding the intentions. At many instances, there were allegations on people from crypto space from defi operators, to crypto firm executives, etc. to set up political connections. Political donations and lobbying took place many times that raises concerns if the innovation claiming to bring decentralization is affecting politics?
Prominent defi firms including Uniswap Labs, Celo Foundation and the Stellar Development Foundation have seen organizational level changes. These firms hired a whole new team that would intend to handle their relations with the government.
In recent times, Uniswap Labs and the Celo Foundation were reported to spend on lobbying. In May, the former onboarded Salman Banaei while appointing him as head of policy. Meanwhile Celo and Stellar also onboarded both internal and outside lobbyists contracts. Many panelists were reported to run the firms said to crypto lobby and donate for political campaigns.
Take the donation of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to the campaign of presidential candidate Joe Biden during 2020. SBF was among the biggest donors to his campaign. In the meantime, leading US crypto exchange Coinbase was also indulging in such activities where several high officials inside the company were reported to be involved in the largest lobbying program of the whole crypto space.
In December, US Congressman Brad Sherman taunted a group of CEOs of crypto firms. He said that people who support and praise crypto assets showcase the strength within the society. He defined the spending of millions on Wall Street and in Washington and to make efforts to generate billions or trillion dollars worth of value from crypto. He mocked that today there were many people talking about the CEOs along with their lobbyists and their powers.
Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast, with a major in macroeconomics and minor in business statistics. She believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks, and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning. She frequently researches, and posts content on the top altcoins, their theoretical working principles and technical price predictions.
