Crypto lobby spending in US set to beat 2022 record: Report

With more than a month left before the end of 2023, the United States crypto industry has already spent $20 million on lobbying efforts.

With more than a month left before the end of 2023, the United States crypto industry has already spent $20 million on lobbying efforts. In the last year, the total sum stood at $22.2 million.

According to a CoinGecko report published on Nov. 14, the U.S. crypto lobby has spent $20.19 million in 2023 to date, and this data doesn’t include Q4 numbers. That means the total amount of lobby spending this year will likely exceed last year’s numbers, which were an absolute record for the American crypto industry.

Between 2019 and 2020, the total lobbying budget of the U.S. crypto companies fluctuated between $2.5 million and $3 million, which accounted for less than 3% of the Wall Street companies’ lobbying expenses. In 2021, this number surged to $8.5 million; in 2022, it reached the $22-million mark. To date, crypto lobbying spending has amounted to 19.7% of Wall Street lobbying.

Related: Crypto advocates file amicus brief to address users’ Fourth Amendment privacy rights

The number of companies involved in lobby spending hasn’t changed significantly compared to last year — with 56 this year versus 57 in 2022. It’s still considerably more than in 2021 (37 companies), 2020 (17) or 2019 (19).

Coinbase has been the leader in spending efforts for 2019–2023, with $7.5 million spent. Second place belongs to the non-commercial Blockchain Association, with $5.23 million spent. Ripple follows in third place, with $3.46 million in crypto lobbying expenditure. The list of organizations that have consistently participated in lobbying efforts includes the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Bitcoin Association and Anchorage Digital.

The study’s data set excluded cases of mixed spending on crypto and non-crypto issues, such as the lobbying efforts from PayPal, JP Morgan, IBM and other companies now involved in the digital asset economy.

Cointelegraph reached out to CoinGecko for further details on the methodology of the research.

Magazine: Breaking into Liberland: Dodging guards with inner-tubes, decoys and diplomats