coindesk.com
Multicoin Capital, one of the largest U.S. investment firms focused on cryptocurrency, is pledging up to $1 million to support Senate candidates with favorable views of the industry.
The investment manager plans to financially support four Republican candidates – Sam Brown in Nevada, David McCormick in Pennsylvania, Bernie Moreno in Ohio and Tim Sheehy in Montana – through donations to the conservative super political action committee (PAC) Sentinel Action Fund.
How much Multicoin gives depends on the outcome of Sentinel's crypto donation drive. According to the group's website, Multicoin will match 100% of (SOL) token donations sent to Sentinel by July 14. Gemini is hosting the group's crypto donations portal and appears to be accepting a variety of tokens, including SOL.
"We’re doing this because we realize that political engagement matters, and it starts with supporting the candidates who believe America needs to remain free for innovation," said Multicoin Managing Partner Kyle Samani in a statement.
Multicoin – as well as its leaders Samani and Tushar Jain – have previously supported pro-crypto candidates on a bipartisan basis. That isn't changing with the donation to Sentinel, despite its status as a decidedly conservative group, a person familiar with the firm's thinking said.
That said, Multicoin identified Sentinel as being aligned with its crypto interests by way of the specific candidates it is backing this cycle, the person said. These four republicans Sentinel is supporting all receive "A" ratings from the Coinbase-led crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.
These candidates' opponents aren't uniformly critical of cryptocurrency on the level of Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator despised by the crypto industry for her rhetoric of hosting an "anti-crypto army." Three of the four are rated as "neutral" or better by Stand With Crypto, though Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown touts an "F."
Still, Multicoin's decision-makers are eager to invest in races that could flip the Senate to Republican control, the person said. Doing so would shift the balance of power in agency appointments and other key areas where crypto companies intersect with the federal government, such as the courts.
Read more: Crypto Giants Notch Wins in Expensive Quest to Sway U.S. Politics – Without Mentioning Crypto
Tech rollout
The matching pledge marks a high-profile test of Dialects' recently debuted "Blink" technology, through which users of X can execute on-chain Solana transactions with their social media posts.
In this case, Blink will allow Solana users to donate to Sentinel through X (formerly Twitter). It will prompt donors to fill out required Federal Election Commission documentation, too, people familiar with the matter said.