Ripple’s Co-Founder Donates Over $10M to Kamala Harris: Here’s What It Means
Shayan Chowdhury22 Oct 20242 min read
As the election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump approaches, more details are coming up about donations from leading figures in the crypto market. People have long noted that this election could greatly impact the market. In line with this view, recent election data shows that Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, has made several substantial donations to Future Forward, a super PAC that supports Vice President Kamala Harris.
Only Crypto Billionaire Who’s Donating Significantly
In September 2024, Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, made several large donations to Future Forward, a super PAC that backs Vice President Kamala Harris. Official records reveal that Larsen made three separate cash donations adding up to $9.89 million to the PAC. Additionally, records indicate he also donated $1 million in XRP cryptocurrency in August along with over $800,000 donated to the Harris Victory Fund, bringing his total contributions to over $11.8 million.
This makes him one of the largest individual donors from the crypto industry in this election cycle.
In a CNBC interview, Larsen, who has backed candidates from different political parties over the last few years, said that his support for Harris is based on his conversations with her campaign team and how he’s seen her perform since she became the main candidate in July, taking over from President Joe Biden.
Larsen’s support for the Democratic nominee has been longstanding. In February, he made the maximum personal donation of $6,600 to Harris, which covered both the primary and general elections, five months before she was named the Democratic presidential nominee, according to Federal Election Commission records. Simultaneously, he also donated $100,000 to the Harris Action Fund PAC.
On the other hand, since early June, the Trump PAC has received approximately $7.5 million in cryptocurrency donations.
Here’s the Real Intention Behind Ripple’s Support
Larsen’s donations have come at a key time when crypto regulation is a major focus in the 2024 election cycle. While his contributions might seem like support for a candidate, his true intentions are not clear.
It’s widely known that Harris’s team has been engaging with crypto experts to better understand the field. This has led to speculation that Kamala Harris might have met with Chris Larsen to discuss her plans for cryptocurrency policy.
Despite receiving substantial financial support from Larsen, Vice President Harris is still struggling to gain public support. According to Polymarket, an online prediction market, only 38.2% of users currently favor Harris to win the 2024 election. This suggests that even significant contributions are not leading to favorable betting odds.
