Crypto’s 2024 election play: Why Big Crypto wants your vote, not just your wallet

As the 2024 U.S. election approaches, the cryptocurrency industry is making a major push to influence voters, but Berkeley Law lecturer Hermine Wong warns that the real loyalty of the crypto community has been to the technology itself, not to the powerful intermediaries now seeking to claim it. Wong, a former SEC official and Coinbase executive, argues that the biggest players in the space are attempting to convert technological enthusiasm into political capital, potentially co-opting the grassroots ethos that has defined crypto since its inception. The stakes are high: with regulatory frameworks still uncertain and agencies like the SEC and CFTC vying for oversight, the industry sees this election as a chance to shape the rules that will govern digital assets for years to come. But Wong cautions that voters should be wary of letting centralized exchanges and well-funded lobbying groups speak for the entire ecosystem. The true promise of blockchain technology lies in decentralization and user empowerment, not in handing political power to a few dominant firms. As the campaign season heats up, the crypto community faces a critical choice: support candidates who understand the technology’s foundational principles, or risk seeing its revolutionary potential diluted by Beltway politics. The vote may be the one thing crypto can’t buy—but it could determine whether the industry’s future is written by innovators or by incumbents.