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- Crypto companies spent $ 5 million in the first nine months of 2021 lobbying US lawmakers, The Economist reported.
- The report noted spending by crypto exchange Coinbase and payments company Block.
- Approximately $ 2.5 million of the funds were spent between July and September, four times the prior year period.
Cryptocurrency companies increased spending during 2021 to pressure US lawmakers as the industry grapples with potential legislation, and the bill soars to around $ 5 million in a few months, according to The Economist.
The expense was made during the first nine months of this year and the amount was calculated from public disclosures, the magazine reported in its December 11 issue. Approximately $ 2.5 million of the funds were spent between July and September, quadrupling the same period in 2020.
The amount of money spent employs the equivalent of 86 full-time employees, an increase of just one in 2016, according to the report. He also said that crypto exchange Coinbase spent $ 625,000 on lobbyists in the third quarter alone and that payments company Block has disbursed more than $ 1.7 million since April 2020.
Block recently had a name change from Square. Its CEO and bitcoin enthusiast Jack Dorsey recently stepped down from the helm of Twitter to devote more time to the payments company he co-founded.
There are “stacks of regulations” potentially at stake for the crypto industry, according to the report. Topics being considered include the taxation of cryptocurrency investments and protecting consumers against fraud, reducing systemic risk, and ensuring fair competition.
A general spike in the prices of bitcoin, altcoins, NFT, and DeFi tokens this year had collectively pushed the cryptocurrency market beyond a $ 3 trillion valuation for the first time. Since then, the market capitalization has fallen and moved to $ 2.2 trillion on Friday.