Big Crypto is now spending more on US elections than any other industry
www.businessinsider.com
Crypto companies have already funneled some $119 million into federal elections, according to data from Public Citizen.

The crypto industry is making its mark on this year’s elections to the tune of some $119 million.

The funding has largely come from two companies — Coinbase and Ripple — which are funneling money into super PACs like Fairshake PAC, which is dedicated to “elevating pro-crypto candidates and attacking crypto skeptics,” according to Public Citizen.

At the 2024 bitcoin conference in Nashville in February, Trump — who called bitcoin “highly volatile and based on thin air” in 2019 — said he’d lay out a plan “to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world.” Trump has already won the backing of several crypto enthusiasts, including his running mate JD Vance, who owns at least $250,000 in bitcoin.

  • magic_lobster_party@fedia.io
    513·
    2 months ago

    There’s a huge difference.

    Fediverse uses almost no energy compared to Reddit and Twitter. This is because few people are using fediverse alternatives.

    Bitcoin uses more energy than entire countries, despite few people using it.

    • uienia@lemmy.world
      271·
      2 months ago

      And also the fediverse serves a purpose. Crypto is just a shortsighted pyramid scheme fueled by greed.

      • Allero@lemmy.today
        39·
        2 months ago

        Crypto is not all about short-term gains and it does have utility. It’s just not an answer to everything, and we should stop treating it like a speculative asset.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
          7·
          2 months ago

          we should stop treating it like a speculative asset.

          If it were to stop acting like a speculative asset more people might take it seriously.

          • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
            11·
            2 months ago

            If it were to stop acting like a speculative asset, nobody would be using it.

            It is all just perpetrated by tech bros who try to get rich from it. Their crypto portfolio is directly connected to the amount of people they can convince to buy in.

            • jumjummy@lemmy.world
              2·
              2 months ago

              Exactly, and if somehow it became impossible to instantly convert crypto to USD, crypto would be worthless. Crypto doesn’t have enough actual utility on its own besides gray/black market purposes.

      • sour@feddit.orgEnglish
        302·
        2 months ago

        No, you don’t. The same way I don’t have to justify using nextcloud vs gdrive because nextcloud uses a lot more energy per user since it’s self hosted.

        Bitcoin uses an absurd amount of energy for its popularity and use. Period.

      • magic_lobster_party@fedia.io
        141·
        2 months ago

        and you’d have the same problem cryptocurrency has.

        No, that’s not going to happen. The reason why cryptocurrencies must rely on a consensus algorithm is because the order of transactions matter. One transaction can make another transaction impossible depending on which one comes first.

        Fediverse doesn’t have this strict condition. No post and comment can make another impossible. It’s also not the entire world if a post is lost.