Crypto’s $130 million congressional election binge has candidates like Utah’s John Curtis poised for big wins
U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks during the Utah Senate primary debate for Republican contenders battling to win the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, June 10, 2024, in Salt Lake City.
Rick Bowmer | AP
SALT LAKE CITY — John Curtis, a Republican congressman from Utah, has become a favorite of the crypto industry in his bid to win the Senate seat held by the departing Mitt Romney. He took a somewhat oblong route through the telecommunications sector to get there.
At an event in Salt Lake City last week, Curtis told a few dozen crypto enthusiasts that he had a conversation a few years ago with some fellow House members about internet service providers and how to incentivize them to boost their offerings. The various lawmakers were throwing around different connection speeds — 50 megabits, 100 megabits — but when Curtis asked whether they’d ever run a speed test, he got puzzling responses.
“They looked at me like I was from another planet,” Curtis told the crowd at the Permissionless conference.
Curtis, 64, said he realized then that lawmakers needed to be smarter about regulations and actually understand the user experience. That’s particularly true in crypto, he said.
“This is so important to get government involved, because if they don’t understand what you’re doing, they’ll make really bad decisions,” the Provo-based congressman said, as the attendees nodded their head in unison. “The worst part of regulation is its unpredictability.”
Curtis’ attitude toward crypto is a big reason why digital coin enthusiasts have filled his coffers in his campaign against Democratic candidate Caroline Gleich, setting him up for what appears to be a landslide victory next month.
The Defend American Jobs PAC, a single-issue committee focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain policy, has contributed more than $1.9 million to Curtis’ campaign, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by crypto market and blockchain analyst James Delmore and verified by CNBC. Additionally, the PAC spent more than $1.5 million to oppose Curtis’ Republican primary challenger, Trent Staggs.
Ben Lucas, Curtis’ campaign spokesman, declined an interview on behalf of the congressman. He sent a statement from Corey Newman, the chief of staff, saying that, “John has always been a strong supporter of the crypto industry as it will help Utah’s economy continue to grow and be a great place to create jobs.”
The sprawling and decentralized digital asset industry is backing Curtis and others who are publicly adopting a pro-crypto policy within their campaigns. The crypto industry accounts for nearly half of all donations made by corporations this election cycle as the sector outpaces both the big banks and oil. Of the 42 primary candidates that crypto-backed super PACs supported, they were successful in 36.
In total, crypto groups have spent over $130 million in congressional races for this year’s election, including the primaries, according to FEC data.
Crypto picks its targets
Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz found in its recent State of Crypto report that more than 40 million Americans hold crypto, a group that’s young and bipartisan. The report said 51% of them indicated they’re likely to throw their weight behind crypto-friendly candidates.
Curtis says the best thing the industry can do is police itself, and then come to lawmakers with the right kind of guardrails, striking a balance of safety and security without excessive regulation.
Three crypto PACs, which are primarily backed by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, have been targeting competitive Senate and House races across the U.S.
Protect Progress has given more than $10 million apiece to Senate candidates in Arizona and Michigan. In Arizona, the group favors Democrat Ruben Gallego, who is vying for the seat being vacated by Kyrsten Sinema. In Michigan, the preferred choice is Elissa Slotkin, who is currently a Democratic House member.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) becomes emotional as the crowd cheers on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 22, 2024.
Kevin Wurm | Reuters
The Republican candidates in Indiana and West Virginia have each received more than $3 million from Defend American Jobs. In Massachusetts, a super PAC for Republican John Deaton has pulled in $2.6 million from the crypto industry. Deaton, however, is polling way behind Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is one of the crypto sector’s top antagonists in Washington.
“Elizabeth Warren is not going to lose her election in Massachusetts, so the industry can’t get rid of Warren,” said Delmore. “But they can at least help to vote out candidates who are allied with her against the crypto industry.”
One big target is Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, the chair of the banking committee. Some $40 million of crypto money has been directed at defeating Brown, and one PAC has paid for five ads designed to boost awareness of his Republican rival, Bernie Moreno, a blockchain entrepreneur. The race is currently very close and is crucial in determining which party will control the Senate.
In House races, around $3.6 million in crypto PAC money has gone to candidates in Arizona, $5.4 million in New York, more than $4.8 million in Virginia, and $5.7 million in California, with half of that spend going to Republican Michelle Park Steel.
Crypto PAC money has been party agnostic and not just focused on battleground districts. The focus is on supporting lawmakers who embrace regulation that favors the technology rather than getting in its way.
“When we talk about digital assets, when we talk about crypto, that is not about Republicans and Democrats,” said House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), at Permissionless. “That’s about Americans, that’s about decentralization of a system that has been, literally, consolidated at the top.”
WATCH: Trump family given $337.5 million token stake in new crypto project
KYMCO, a leading Taiwanese scooter maker, has just announced the next step in its growing partnership with US-based electric motorcycle company LiveWire. The long-awaited KYMCO RevoNEX electric motorcycle will now be built on the Arrow S2 platform developed by LiveWire.
The pair of companies showed off the latest design for the RevoNEX electric motorcycle in a joint announcement at the 2024 EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show, with KYMCO Chairman Allen Ko riding the motorcycle out to the center stage in a dramatic unveiling.
The RevoNEX has been years in the making and undergone several key design updates on its circuitous path from concept to hopeful production. While previous versions have skewed much further in the direction of concept bikes, KYMCO’s partnership with LiveWire has allowed the RevoNEX to be reworked on top of an existing motorcycle platform already in serial production.
LiveWire uses the S2 Arrow platform for its Del Mar and Mulholland electric motorcycles, with the platform specifically designed as a versatile foundation that would allow a multitude of options for various motorbikes. Now one of those options will be under the KYMCO badge with a unique styling unlike anything we likely would have seen from LiveWire.
“Every detail of the new RevoNEX has been meticulously crafted to bring riders the most unique electric riding experience,” said KYMCO Chairman Allen Ko. “And we are determined to bring the new RevoNEX to consumers in the shortest time.”
When I pressed Mr. Ko on that timeframe, he explained that their target is to follow shortly behind LiveWire’s intended launch of its upcoming Arrow S2-based electric maxi-scooter built in collaboration with KYMCO, which is slated for the first half of 2026. Ko added that he hopes the RevoNEX will be ready to launch by the second half of 2026.
This marks the best chance for KYMCO’s RevoNEX to land on a path to production and further underscores the growing relationship between the Taiwanese scooter giant and the American electric motorcycle maker.
While there’s still plenty of time to wait before a potential RevoNEX production version unveiling and eventual commencement of manufacturing, the future certainly appears bright now that KYMCO has selected an advanced platform that could help realize RevoNEX’s long-awaited vision in a realistic timeline.
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Former President Donald Trump arrives for his campaign rally at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Doral, Florida, on July 9, 2024.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
As Donald Trump celebrated his prospective victory on Election Night at Mar-a-Lago, he was joined by a roster of high-profile supporters. Among them were Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick.
One thing those three people have in common: crypto.
It’s an industry that Trump talked little about until recently but has counted on for large amounts of cash for his campaign and related PACs. Getting that money required him to make big promises pertaining to the crypto industry.
Digital asset markets surged on Election Night, with bitcoin hitting a record of over $75,000, as his victory began looking likely. Crypto-linked stocks like Coinbase and MicroStrategy moved higher as well in after-hours trading Tuesday.
With a Republican-controlled Senate on the horizon, Trump has few roadblocks to putting in place a more pro-crypto platform. Here are some of the things he’s pledged to do:
Strategic national crypto stockpile
In Nashville in July, Trump headlined the biggest bitcoin conference of the year. In his keynote address, the former president said that if he returned to the White House, he would ensure the federal government never sells off its bitcoin holdings. However, he stopped short of proposing a formal federal reserve of digital currency.
“For too long our government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your bitcoin,” Trump said during his keynote speech.
Trump pledged to maintain the current level of bitcoin holdings that the U.S. has amassed from seizing assets from financial criminals.
“If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” he said.
Currently, the U.S. Marshals Service regularly auctions off bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies held in the country’s coffers such as ether and litecoin. These sales can sometimes trigger drops in crypto prices, like earlier this year when Germany began to liquidate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin it had seized.
‘On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler’
In public remarks for months, Trump has promised to unseat U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.
“On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler,” Trump said, referencing the Joe Biden-appointed SEC chairman who has taken an aggressive approach to crypto regulation.
The president does not have the power to fire the SEC chair. Even if Trump were to appoint a new chairman, Gensler would remain a commissioner on the independent agency.
Gensler has brought more than 100 actions against crypto firms during his tenure at the helm of the commission. In multiple interviews, the SEC chair has said he believes much of the industry already belongs under its jurisdiction, and its lawsuits are simply bringing the sector under compliance.
Crypto firms argue that the recent legal battles haven’t given the regulatory clarity the industry has been seeking, and they instead reflect a gross overreach by the commission.
Trump also vowed to create a “bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council.”
“The rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry,” he said.
Trump has expressly spoken out about his qualms with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is widely viewed by the crypto community as an existential threat.
All bitcoin will be mined in America
In June in Palm Beach, Florida, about a dozen bitcoin mining executives and experts sat down with Trump for an hour and a half in a small tea room at the Mar-a-Lago Club. The closed-door session marked the first time the former president took a meeting with the technologists securing the $1.5 trillion bitcoin network by running large banks of high-powered machines.
The intimate gathering brought together a coalition of some of the biggest private and public American miners in the business, including representatives from Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital Holdings, Terawulf, CleanSpark and Core Scientific.
Less than four hours after Trump’s roundtable wrapped, the former president took to social media to extol the virtues of the bitcoin mining business.
“Biden’s hatred of Bitcoin only helps China, Russia, and the Radical Communist Left. We want all the remaining Bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!!! It will help us be ENERGY DOMINANT!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after his meeting.
Since then, Trump has on multiple occasions reiterated the sentiment.
“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,” Trump declared in Nashville.
“We will be creating so much electricity that you’ll be saying, ‘Please, please, President, we don’t want any more electricity. We can’t stand it!'” he added.
Fed rate cuts
In August, Trump said that, if elected, he would lower interest rates.
The Federal Reserve, which guides the country’s monetary policy, sets the benchmark rate. It also, by design, operates independently from the White House.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell in September decided to slash rates by a half point in its first easing campaign in four years.
Rate cuts and the easing of monetary policy historically dovetails with a surge in crypto prices since it makes it cheaper to borrow money.
LiveWire, the electric motorcycle company spun out of Harley-Davidson, is flexing the versatility of the company’s S2 Arrow powertrain with the unveiling of an electric maxi scooter.
A maxi-scooter is a type of large, powerful scooter designed for comfortable riding. Unlike traditional urban-oriented scooters, maxi-scooters typically have more powerful motors that make them suitable for highway travel. They tend to feature a more robust frame, larger wheels, and extra storage space, along with more premium amenities such as windshields, comfortable seating, and often more advanced tech features. LiveWire is likely to lean into all of those opportunities by leveraging its existing electric motorcycle S2 Arrow powertrain for the new design.
The S2 Arrow powertrain was first unveiled during the launch of the LiveWire S2 Del Mar. The powertrain includes the structural battery, electric motor, and the associated control hardware. LiveWire demonstrated the platform’s flexibility by quickly launching a second model, the S2 Mulholland, on the platform.
Now LiveWire is making a major leap to fully realize the platform’s broad appeal for designing diverse models, using it as the backbone for its upcoming electric maxi-scooter slated for launch in the first half of 2026.
With the success of electric maxi-scooters like the BMW CE-04, LiveWire has surely been looking closely at how the segment could leverage the performance of its versatile e-motorcycle platform.
LiveWire won’t rely only on its own platform to bring the electric maxi-scooter to market, but also on the expertise of KYMCO, a leading Taiwanese scooter company that has long dominated the market with its wide range of scooters, both gasoline and electric-powered.
“LiveWire is an iconic leader in electric solutions for urban mobility, explained KYMCO Chairman Allen Ko. “We are excited to partner with them as LiveWire embarks on the development of a S2-based electric maxi-scooter.”
KYMCO became an early investor in LiveWire and the two companies are now strengthening their relationship with increased collaboration on multiple electric motorbike models.
“The collaboration has been very smooth,” said LiveWire CEO Karim Donnez in an interview with Electrek. “We’ve found the KYMCO team very easy to work with.”
Donnez explained that the two companies have continued to strengthen their work together, with the hemispheric separation between them allowing the unique opportunity for nearly 24-hour progress. Plans are in the works for a geographic exchange of employees to further integrate the teams and allow more seamless collaboration between the two companies.
And the fruits of that cooperation are already showing with the unveiling of the updated KYMCO RevoNEX electric motorcycle, which has been redesigned based on the S2 Arrow platform. Assuming LiveWire’s electric maxi-scooter makes it to market first, the RevoNEX would become the fourth model launched on LiveWire’s S2 Arrow foundation.
Early responses have been largely positive to LiveWire’s release of concept images of its upcoming electric maxi-scooter on social media.
LiveWire’s branding and marketing has always sought to distinguish itself from the brand’s Harley-Davidson roots, allowing the young motorcycle company to emerge from behind H-D’s shadow and largely do its own thing, focusing on a different type of rider with distinct demands and desires.
The inclusion of a powerful electric maxi-scooter in the lineup is likely to help underscore that independence, with LiveWire continuing to focus on a younger, more urban audience that increasingly sees two-wheelers less as an identity and more as a lifestyle, merging fun riding with utilitarian commuting.
It’s of course far too early to tell how the bikes will ultimately be received. We’ve yet to see LiveWire’s electric maxi-scooter concepts in the flesh, indicating there’s likely still some significant design time left in the development cycle. But one thing is already for certain: LiveWire is increasingly doing its own thing and the company wouldn’t have it any other way.
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