The Vermont senator said crypto companies are pushing the Clarity Act as payback for $189 million in election spending. Coinbase and Ripple led the industry's political contributions.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday that cryptocurrency companies are pushing Congress to pass a market structure bill, the Clarity Act, as repayment for the industry's election-season political spending.
Sanders posted a video on X of his conversation with actor and crypto critic Ben McKenzie. Citing what he described as "very high sources," Sanders said politicians have been told not to antagonize big-money interests or the crypto billionaires who have poured hundreds of millions into elections.
"When you take on crypto, you're taking on hundreds of millions of dollars of folks who want to defeat you," Sanders said.
Both Sanders and McKenzie agreed the industry is backing the Clarity Act. Sanders called it a "scam." McKenzie, who has written critically about crypto, said the industry is "putting a few bucks" into seeing the bill passed.
A report published in late June showed crypto companies spent $189 million on the midterm elections, accounting for 37% of all corporate political giving during that cycle. Coinbase Global Inc. and Ripple led the industry's spending, according to the report.
Sanders then turned to President Donald Trump, questioning how someone who labeled crypto a "scam" as recently as 2021 has now become one of its biggest profiteers.
Trump has defended his crypto-related income, asserting there was nothing "illegal" or "wrong" about it. A White House spokesperson told Benzinga that all of the president's assets are held in "fully discretionary accounts" managed by "independent third-party financial institutions" and rejected any allegations of conflicts of interest.
Sanders has long described big-money political influence as "legalized bribery." He said the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, which lifted many campaign finance limits, must be overturned.
The Clarity Act remains in committee. No floor vote has been scheduled.
The industry's $189 million in midterm spending was more than a third of all corporate political contributions that cycle, according to the report. Coinbase alone accounted for a significant share of that total, the data showed.
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