Companies and individuals linked to the cryptocurrency industry in the United States have contributed at least $471 million to campaigns for the 2026 midterm elections. This figure is nearly double the amount given during the 2024 elections, which stood at roughly $250 million, according to data published on November 11 by Bitcoin.com.
Republican candidates receive majority of funds
Blockchain analytics platform Breadcrumbs, through its market analyst James Delmore, based these calculations on data from the US Federal Election Commission. Of the total contributions, $302 million went to Republican candidates and affiliated groups, while Democratic candidates received $96 million. These figures represent about 65% and 21% of total crypto industry donations, respectively.
| Party | Donations ($ million) | Share of total (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Republicans | 302 | 65 |
| Democrats | 96 | 21 |
Republican candidates and their supporting groups thus received more than three times the amount sent to their Democratic counterparts.
a16z tops corporate contributions
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, widely known as a16z, led all corporate donors with a total of $117 million in contributions. Coinbase followed with $61 million, Ripple with $50 million, and Crypto.com with $39 million.
Among individual donors, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman contributed the largest amount, giving $28 million. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, each made donations of $18 million.
Individual donations peaked with $28 million from LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, while Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each donated $18 million.
These sizable donations highlight the increasing political involvement of both corporate and individual actors within the digital asset sector.
Mini dictionary: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a leading venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, renowned for backing major projects in blockchain, fintech, and technology startups.
Ripple’s forecast for blockchain assets by 2030
Lee Eun-jin, Asia Pacific sales director at Ripple, stated during a seminar in South Korea on November 11 that up to $30 trillion worth of assets could move onto blockchains by 2030. For stablecoins to see widespread use in daily financial transactions, Lee noted that interoperability between traditional financial institutions, blockchains, and payment systems would be essential.
Lee outlined four requirements for this integration: transferring assets between different blockchains, aligning asset transfers with payments, verifying customer identities, and complying with anti-money laundering regulations. The fourth requirement is the ability to convert between currencies and ensure adequate liquidity.
Regarding cross-border payments, Lee emphasized the need for stablecoin transactions to allow for conversion into local currencies and sufficient liquidity for trading. According to Lee, although blockchain and stablecoins can simplify some processes and speed up transactions, legal and institutional requirements of the current financial system still apply, especially for asset transfers and resolving transaction issues.
“The most successful infrastructure is one that customers do not even notice exists.”
Lee added that for users, the priority is the reliable completion of payments and accurate verification of transaction information.
Lee also pointed out that while faster stablecoin transactions bring advantages, those benefits could be limited if currency conversion is expensive or local settlement is delayed.
