Ripple’s Larsen Explains Why He Donated $10 Million in XRP to Harris’ Presidential Campaign

TL;DR

Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen endorsed Kamala Harris, citing her pro-innovation stance and connections to the Bay Area tech scene. The US presidential candidate recently voiced his support for a crypto regulatory framework aimed at protecting vulnerable groups, but has yet to provide specific policy details. “Excited by Harris’ economic message”

The US presidential election is less than a week away (scheduled for November 5), with Republican Donald Trump facing off against Democrat Kamala Harris. According to many industry participants, the former is the best choice for pro-crypto voters, given their favorable stance towards the sector (shown over the past few months).

Trump also promised to fire US SEC chairman Gary Gensler if he emerges victorious. The agency and its boss have been at open war with many crypto companies, such as Ripple. He filed a lawsuit against the company in December 2020, accusing it and some of its executives of illegally raising more than $1.3 billion in an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP.

The legal battle is ongoing, with the SEC recently appealing a 2023 verdict handed down by Judge Torres (which ruled that the company’s sales of XRP to retail investors on crypto exchanges did not violate securities laws).

That said, it was a surprise that Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen publicly endorsed Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris. He even donated $10 million in XRP to support his campaign. In a recent interview with CNBC, Larsen explained that he supports Harris because of his “economic message”:

“It’s a pro-innovation message, making sure our American champions dominate their industries around the world. So I’m excited about that. The DNA of the Harris administration comes from the world capital of innovation: the Bay Area (it’s a place that has created more trillion-dollar companies than anywhere else on the planet).

She succeeds. He grew up here and knows people who founded these companies, so I’m really confident that it will be a completely different approach than the failed policy of the Biden administration when it came to crypto.”

Larsen added that members of Harris’ potential cabinet have recently held numerous meetings with companies in the cryptocurrency industry. According to him, the Democrats have sent a clear message that their view on the asset class will be different from that of the previous administration.

Harris’ future approach to cryptography remains a mystery

The Democratic candidate was initially dismissive of the digital asset industry and did not focus on it during her campaign. Earlier this month, he finally addressed the matter, advocating for a global crypto regulatory framework to protect “black men and others” who participate in the market.

Harris noted that one-fifth of all blacks in the United States own or have previously owned cryptocurrencies. He also argued that these “new technologies” expanded people’s access to affordable banking and financial services.

However, Harris’ team did not offer any specific information about what the proposed regulatory framework would include.

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