Biden Campaign Seeks Crypto Industry Input

The Breakdown First Five - Thursday, May 30, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Paypal Adds Solana

The much hyped but little used Paypal stablecoin has launched on Solana. Paypal said the faster and cheaper blockchain would be more suitable for retail payments than the stablecoin’s original home on Ethereum mainnet. The Solana expansion would also enable “confidential transfers”, which mask transaction amounts while retaining critical compliance information. 

4. Ripple Adds to Election Warchest

Ripple has tipped another $25M into crypto SuperPAC Fairshake. The firm has donated $45M to SuperPACs since last December according to FEC filings. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the donations were intended to educate voters on crypto and warn of the dangers of the “anti-crypto stance some policymakers are clinging to in Washington.” This donation adds to the $100M already amassed by Fairshake, which is now one of the largest SuperPACs.

3. Gemini Distribution Underway

Gemini Earn users have received their distribution from the Genesis bankruptcy. Gemini says they have returned $2.18B in digital assets to creditors, representing 97% of the total distribution. This represents a 232% recovery in fiat terms as the crypto tokens were delivered in kind. Gemini Co-CEO said “It’s important to note that the Genesis bankruptcy was not a crypto problem. It was old-fashioned financial fraud compounded by a lack of regulatory clarity."

2. Treasury: Not a Mixer Ban

Treasury official Brian Nelson has said the agency isn’t trying to ban crypto mixers. After shutting down multiple mixers over recent years this position is a little difficult to believe, but Nelson claims the Treasury is trying to strike a balance between privacy and compliance. He said he understands the “desire to have a certain degree of privacy” on public blockchains and encouraged the industry to work with the government on proposals. 

1. Biden Pivots?

Sources are beginning to suggest that the Democrat’s crypto pivot goes all the way to the top. The Biden campaign has reportedly reached out to industry figures on “crypto community and crypto policy moving forward." The outreach began two weeks ago, shortly after the White House’s threat to veto the repeal of SAB 121. Still very early days, but this is a shift from the previous position, where industry figures were turned away when they offered policy support.