Top cryptocurrency groups have doled out millions of dollars on lobbying in 2022 as Congress weighs regulations aimed at cracking down on the industry, especially in the wake of FTX’s collapse, according to disclosures reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
Eight major players in the cryptocurrency world have shelled out over $10.4 million combined to lobby during the first three quarters of 2022, disclosures show. The spending haul by the organizations comes after 2021 lobbying expenditures for the industry as a whole clocked in at just over $9 million, according to a March analysis of disclosures by Public Citizen, a liberal think tank.
The cryptocurrency industry has been embattled over the past year as federal inquiries expand and members of Congress throw their support behind laws they say would protect consumers from an unregulated market experiencing significant volatility. Since the November collapse of FTX, a Bahamas-based exchange, the prices of cryptocurrency coins such as Bitcoin have tumbled dramatically, and there have been renewed calls by lawmakers for a stricter regulatory environment.
“As I’ve said for years, clear rules of the road for the digital asset ecosystem are the best way to protect consumers and investors in this space,” Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who is poised to lead the House Financial Services Committee next Congress, told the Washington Examiner.
“The recent…
