The last year has been a game-changer in terms of crypto adoption with Bitcoin making a new ATH, ETFs getting approval, and much more but that isn’t where the story ends. As per the recent US lobbying expenditures, it can be noted that crypto lobbying spending grew significantly over the last few years.
Crypto Lobbying on the Rise
Of late, cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses have gotten concerned about the future of the asset class and of regulators who would be in charge of overseeing their respective industries. Reportedly, money spent on crypto lobbying increased by 116% in 2021, with $4.9 million being leveraged to try to influence lawmakers and public authorities.
Data released in a report by the digital assets-focused website Crypto Head highlighted that since 2017, the total amount of money spent on lobbying has increased significantly. Lobbying expenditures went from $200,000 to $920,000 in 2018, representing the largest percentage increase. However, the most sizeable increase happened between 2020 and 2021, with expenditure rising by $2.65 million more than doubling in comparison to the previous year.
By the end of 2021, total crypto lobbying expenditures peaked at $9.56 million, the highest in over five years. Reports further highlighted that if the yearly growth rate continues to increase in 2022, the aforementioned figure could reach $15 million or more by the end of the following year.
Some of the top names in the crypto industry like Robinhood, Ripple, and Coinbase dominated the amount spent on crypto lobbying.
The Biggest Spenders
The report underlines that since 2017, Ripple Labs, the developer of the open-source protocol and remittance system Ripple, is the biggest-spending crypto company in the US with lobbying expenses totaling nearly $2 million. For the year 2021, Coinbase was the biggest-spending lobbying blockchain company, with expenses totaling over $1.3 million.
The study further notes that Ripple Labs is ‘possibly the most influential crypto company in the US when it comes to affecting government policy and regulation.’ Notably, Ripple Labs has been under a lawsuit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission since late 2020. The regulators have alleged that the firm was involved in a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering of XRP.
Furthermore, crypto-friendly stock trading app Robinhood spent close to $1.35 million in contribution to crypto lobbying expenditures. Now since Robinhood only introduced cryptocurrency trading options on its platform in January 2018 the high expenditure on lobbying is indicative of how quickly the company has grown into a major player in the cryptocurrency market.
Other big industry lobbyists include the industry’s advocates group Blockchain Association, and blockchain platform Block.one. The sheer rise in the crypto industry’s spending on lobbying notably comes in response to the crypto market attracting more attention from US regulators.
