Ripple Chairman donates $1M in XRP to Kamala Harris's campaign
Chris Larsen, the Chairman of Ripple (CRYPTO:XRP), has made a notable donation of 1.7 million XRP tokens—valued at approximately $1 million—to support Vice President Kamala Harris's 2024 campaign.
The contribution was made to the pro-Harris Future Forward PAC on August 14, marking a significant moment in political fundraising as cryptocurrency continues to play an expanding role in the 2024 election cycle.
According to records from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), this donation comes as the Future Forward PAC begins accepting cryptocurrency contributions.
The PAC supports Harris through campaign advertisements and focuses on countering her political rivals, including Donald Trump.
Larsen’s public endorsement of Harris is no surprise, as he had previously signed a letter, along with 87 other business leaders, backing her candidacy in September.
Despite the donation's size, it has raised eyebrows, especially considering Ripple’s ongoing legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC has accused Ripple of illegally selling XRP as an unregistered security. Although some recent rulings have favored Ripple, the SEC continues its case, appealing decisions that challenged its classification of XRP.
Fred Rispoli, a pro-XRP attorney, speculated on Larsen’s possible motivation, suggesting, “There are plenty of different motivations to explain this donation. The best explanation is simply: Screw it, let’s see if she accepts the XRP her own administration says is an investment contract.”
Ripple has been fighting this legal battle with the SEC for years, and this high-profile donation adds another layer to the complex relationship between cryptocurrency companies and regulators.
At the time of writing, the XRP price was $0.5365.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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