The artificial intelligence and crypto industries have made headlines over the past year thanks to the impressive war chest amassed by corporate political action committees (PACs).
Wasteful spending during the last US federal election led to unprecedented policy changes in favor of the crypto industry, with indications that a full legislative framework in the form of the CLARITY Act is on its way to becoming law.
But that didn’t endear the crypto industry to voters. The latest Politico polls show distrust towards the crypto industryand the electorate is not sold on the benefits of artificial intelligence.
“Voters across the ideological spectrum are raising concerns,” Michael Beckel, director of money in policy reform at Issue One, told Cointelegraph. “Some candidates on both sides of the aisle are trying to capitalize on that frustration and anger.”
Voters don’t trust crypto and don’t believe that AI benefits them
According to a recent poll conducted by Public First for Politico, most Americans do not trust cryptocurrencies and do not believe in the benefits of artificial intelligence.
Source: Politically
While Republican voters are more likely to trust crypto, 47% of Americans overall trust a traditional bank over a crypto platform, while 17% trust a crypto platform as much as a traditional bank.
The numbers for AI aren’t great either. About 43% of Americans believe the risks outweigh the benefits, while 33% believe the opposite.
Source: Politico
Related: Crypto PACs Secure Huge War Chests Ahead of US Midterm Exams
Currently, most people have not heard of the main crypto and AI lobbies. According to Politico, only nine percent have heard of AI Super PAC Leading the Future. Only three percent have heard of the pro-crypto PAC Fairshake.
That’s not much compared to the publicity about big lobbies like the National Rifle Association or the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which are practically household names.
However, the connection to the crypto could be a problem. Ohio Republican Representative Jim Renacci told Politico, “I think if they see someone supporting crypto, that’s always going to be a problem, because, let’s be honest, the people I talk to in Ohio don’t understand crypto, and most say they’re not comfortable with (it).”
Improving awareness around crypto lobbies may not help them much. Rick Claypool, director of research at Public Citizen, told Cointelegraph:
“Generally speaking, voters are against the influence of corporate money on politics.”
“Even after Citizens United, the norm was that big, well-known corporations didn’t get involved directly. Or when they did, they often contributed through shadow money groups that disguised their source of funding.”
In this respect, the rise in crypto industry spending in 2024 was somewhat unusual. Major contributors like Coinbase or a16z have not been shy about the millions of dollars they have invested in campaigns.
But even then, “Fairshake’s message to voters was never about cryptocurrencies, which voters never really cared about.” The mailers and ad buys broadly reflected the views of the supported candidates or sometimes attacked the views of the perceived anti-crypto candidate.
Overall, “candidates perceived to be out of touch with corporate interests have an electoral advantage,” Claypool said. This was true for populist candidates like US Senator Bernie Sanders and even US President Donald Trump, who claimed during his 2016 campaign that he “was so rich he couldn’t be bought, which is funny in retrospect”.
If awareness of cryptocurrencies — and the concerted efforts of female cryptographers to influence policy — increases among voters, it may not shake well.
Issue One’s Beckel said, “If voters see an industry as toxic, that can have serious implications for candidates who don’t want to be perceived as too close to a controversial company or industry.”
Grassroots Organize Against AI, Crypto Gets Its Day in Washington
Voters’ dissatisfaction with a certain industry was translated into real action.
Beckel noted a recent example when voters’ views on the oil and fossil fuel lobby were enough to push some Democratic candidates to swear any contributions. Beckel said some organizations are already urging lawmakers to divest themselves of any input from the AI lobby.
Indeed, there was a growing mass movement against the artificial intelligence industry, more directly, namely the construction of very expensive and resource-intensive data centers. Local movements in seven states have blocked or delayed over $64 billion in data center investment. One state, Maine, did sedate introduce a nationwide ban.
Municipalities in California, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and Virginia have banned or delayed the projects. Source: Viewing the data center
According to Claypool, this could prove to be a great opportunity for congressional candidates “to capitalize on the anti-data center and big tech momentum for Democrats especially, but not exclusively, since the tech sector has become so fully embroiled in the Trump administration.”
This increasing partisan orientation could also affect how voters perceive these industries.
Jason Thielman, former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the crypto industry has tried to “maintain a degree of bipartisanship and identify people who they think will be champions on these issues.”
But even though the lobby claims to be bipartisan – Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called crypto “the most bipartisan issue” in D.C. — his priorities like deregulation and rolled back enforcement are mostly, but not exclusively, Republican, Claypool said.
Claypool said that “crypto-billionaires have tried to portray themselves as scrappy outsiders against Wall Street.”
“But that’s a less persuasive argument now that crypto allies run, along with the White House, the DOJ, the SEC, the CFTC, the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department.”
Furthermore, the sector has become deeply tied to Trump himself after the president fully embraced the 2024 industry, as well as pardons of convicted crypto executives and his use of crypto for his own personal enrichment.
With Trump’s popularity sliding due to geopolitical entanglements, unpredictable economic outlook and controversial policies at home, a relationship with him and his party may carry political risk.
In the Illinois Democratic Senate primary, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton she accused her opponent MP Raja Krishnamoorthi backed by big money from the “MAGA-backed crypto brothers”. She won by seven points.
It could also influence future policy making. Beckel said, “If the industry is seen as a friend of one party and an enemy of the other, it is more likely to be in the crosshairs or under the microscope when the other party is in power.”
For crypto and AI, that moment could come as early as November 4.
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