Recent lobbying expenditures indicate that cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses are growing increasingly concerned about the future regulators who will be in charge of overseeing their respective industries.
Finbold’s data shows that money spent on crypto lobbying surged by 116% in 2021, with $4.9 million being used to try to sway lawmakers and public officials, with Robinhood, Ripple, and Coinbase dominating the amount spent on crypto lobbying.
The total amount of money spent on lobbying has climbed dramatically since 2017. Lobbying expenses climbed by the most significant amount, from $200,000 to $920,000 in 2018. However, the most significant real rise occurred between 2020 and 2021, when spending increased by $2.65 million, more than tripling from the prior year.
Over the course of five years, total crypto lobbying expenditures had reached $9.56 million by the end of 2021. If the annual growth rate continues to rise in 2022, this sum might rise to $15 million or even more by the end of the year. The data are from research issued in February 2022 by Crypto Head, a website dedicated to digital assets.
Since elected officials traded while being privy to the talks and debates that culminated in President Biden’s legislative program, it raises questions about the integrity of the trading process especially when crypto lobbying is allowed.