More than $11.8 million given to Harris campaign by Ripple founder billionaire.

• With two weeks remaining until the general election, the crypto industry has mostly donated to Vice President Kamala Harris and a mix of tight House races in September, according to fresh election data.
• This cycle, one of the largest individual donors from the crypto industry is the co-founder and chairman of Ripple, who has given more than $11.8 million to PACs supporting the Harris campaign.
• Nearly $29 million was distributed by the committee in September, with Fairshake being one of the top spending PACs this year.

In September, Chris Larsen, the co-founder and chairman of Ripple, donated nearly $9.9 million to Future Forward and over $800,000 to the Harris Victory Fund, according to FEC data analyzed by James Delmore and verified by CNBC.

This cycle, the billionaire has given more than $11.8 million to PACs supporting the Harris campaign, including his August contribution of $1 million worth of XRP tokens, making him one of the crypto industry's largest individual donors.

Larsen, who has supported candidates from both sides in recent years, stated in an interview with CNBC that his comfort level with Harris stems from discussions he has had with campaign insiders and his observations of the vice president since she took over as the top of the ticket in July.

It helps that Harris is from the Bay Area.

"Larsen stated that she understands the innovation economy at a fundamental level because she has grown up with people who have experienced it their entire lives. In contrast, the Biden administration may not have fully grasped this connection or failed to make it between empowering workers and ensuring American dominance in industries."

Larsen has been supporting Harris since February, when he donated $6,600 to her campaign, which was the maximum personal contribution allowed. This was five months before she became the Democratic presidential nominee. Additionally, he donated $100,000 to the Harris Action Fund PAC at the same time.

According to Forbes, Larsen, 64, has a net worth of $3.1 billion, mainly from his ownership of XRP and his role in Ripple, which offers blockchain technology to financial services companies.

The crypto industry has emerged as a significant player in political fundraising, with nearly half of all corporate money flowing into elections coming from this sector, according to a recent report from Public Citizen.

Since early June, the Trump PAC has received approximately $7.5 million in cryptocurrency contributions.

Nearly $29 million was distributed by the committee in September, with Fairshake being one of the top spending PACs this year.

Two affiliated PACs received a total of $20 million, with $15 million going to the Defend American Jobs PAC, a single-issue committee that supports Republicans on cryptocurrency and blockchain policy, and $5 million going to Protect Progress, which only supports Democrats.

Last month, Fairshake spent $8.8 million on House races in New York, Nevada, and California, according to FEC data analyzed by James Delmore and verified by CNBC.

The Cook Political Report has labeled several races as toss-ups, including those of Southern California Republicans David G. Valadao and Michael Garcia, who are fighting to maintain their seats. Valadao and Garcia have received $1.3 million and $1 million in contributions, respectively.

In the 2024 election cycle, the crypto industry contributed approximately $190 million in political donations. Out of this amount, crypto groups have already spent over $130 million on congressional races for the current year, including the primaries.