- Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen donated $1 million in XRP to support Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign.
- The donation marks Harris’s first documented cryptocurrency contribaution, drawing attention from political and financial circles.
- Larsen’s endorsement joins a list of high-profile executives backing Harris for president.
Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple, donated 1,754,815.29 XRP-valued $1 million-to the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris in 2024. This is reportedly the first crypto donation to a political candidate on such a scale, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Larsen donated to Future Forward USA, a super PAC supporting Harris.
Eleanor Terrett of Fox Business underlined the importance of such a donation by referring to its historical value in the ever-changing landscape of political fundraising. This contribution underlines the growing heft of cryptocurrency in US politics but, at the same time, serves as a test of how the current administration caution in relation to digital assets responds to such contributions.
Ripple’s Chris Larsen Among Corporate Giants Backing Harris
Chris Larsen is one of an eye-turning 88 top executives publicly supporting Kamala Harris’ bid for president. Other high-profile supporters include Box CEO Aaron Levie, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, and James Murdoch, ex-CEO of 21st Century Fox. This letter of endorsement first shared with CNBC, features the support of business leaders across industries from tech and media to finance and philanthropy.
Harris’ ability to attract such prominent supporters from both Wall Street and Silicon Valley signals her broad appeal among corporate leaders. Other influential backers include former CEOs of major companies like PepsiCo, Blackstone, and GoDaddy, showing a strong alignment between Harris’ policies and the corporate world.
Political Implications of XRP Donation
While this is a historic donation, the move is not without controversy. Attorney Fred Rispoli pointed out the irony of Harris’s acceptance of XRP in light of the present administration’s stance on the asset as a security.
The move by Larsen, against the backdrop of the ongoing lawsuit by the SEC against Ripple, may also be seen to challenge the regulatory narrative set up around cryptocurrency. Harris will surely gain from the financial and political weight carried by such high-profile endorsements, particularly at this juncture in the White House race.
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