Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen donated $10 million worth of XRP to United States of America Vice President Kamala Harris. Larsen became the largest individual donor of the US elections.
Larsen’s donation aims to strengthen the campaign of Harris, who will fight against former US president Donald Trump next month.
While Larsen’s donation reflects his personal support, the crypto industry is also supporting the elections. The industry has poured more than $200 million into Fairshake, a political action committee that distributes funds to both parties.
Federal Election Commission data shows that Larsen previously donated $1.75 million to the pro-Democratic PAC. He also donated $1 million to Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro in December last year.
Larsen Supports Harris for Pragmatic Regulations
Speaking to CNBC, Larsen said he trusted Harris and that he would ‘bring a more pragmatic approach and clear rules’ to the crypto sector. This approach expected from Harris contradicts SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s strict enforcement actions. Gensler’s stance, especially against Ripple, pushed many in the crypto sector to support Trump.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who donated to politicians of both parties, described SEC Chairman Gary Gensler as a ‘political obstacle’ in January.
Sharing on X, Garlinghouse said, ‘I respect Chris (and everyone else) for supporting the leader they believe will be best for the US.’
Garlinghouse said, ‘We need to end this administration’s war against crypto.’
SEC and Ripple Case Prolongs
Before US President Joe Biden took office in 2020, the SEC had sued Garlinghouse and Larsen for violating securities laws by unregistered sales of digital tokens that the SEC classified as securities.
The SEC dropped the charges against the executives. However, Ripple continues to fight accusations of violations of securities laws and the legal struggle continues.
The SEC recently appealed the case, further prolonging the long-running Ripple case.