Anchorage Digital, Chainlink back new crypto PAC as election season heats up

A new political action committee, the Blockchain Leadership Fund, has launched with backing from Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs as the midterm election season ramps up in what's going to be another pivotal year for crypto regulation.

On Monday, the PAC said it plans to support candidates who are working to move forward digital asset and blockchain policies.

"Crypto policy is being written right now and the companies that show up and engage will help define the rules of the road; the ones that don’t will inherit them,” said an Anchorage Digital spokesperson in a statement.

The launch comes as lawmakers in Washington continue to grapple with crypto legislation. Pending bills would generally regulate the digital asset industry as a whole, set parameters for which agency has jurisdiction, and also include disclosure requirements, among other rules.

The process has since slowed in the Senate after legislation passed the House last year, amid a sentiment to get a bill passed into law before the November elections. The Senate Banking Committee has been working on language to iron out issues on how to treat stablecoin rewards, which have become a point of contention between banks and crypto.

"The market structure bill is where the real complexity lives, and the candidates willing to work through that complexity deserve sustained, organized support from the industry," a Chainlink spokesperson said in the statement.

The Blockchain Leadership Fund said it will back "pro-innovation candidates" and engage with voters, as it focuses on advancing decentralized technologies. This would be Anchorage Digital's first foray into funding a PAC, according to a statement.

"The choices we make now will shape the industry, and American financial leadership, for decades," the platform said. "That outcome will be determined by who invests in the process and who shows up when it matters."

Other PACs are also gearing up for the November elections. Last week, crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto released an "innovation hub" that grades lawmakers based on their positions on digital assets. As a whole, the crypto industry played a significant role in the 2024 election season, spending millions of dollars through PACs.