Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen joined 87 other corporate leaders in endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House, as reported by CNBC on Sept. 6.

The letter included several other high-profile signatories, including Aaron Levie (Box CEO), Jeremy Stoppelman (Yelp CEO), philanthropist Lynn Forester de Rothschild, private equity billionaire José Feliciano, Twilio co-founder Jeff Lawson, DC sports magnate Ted Leonsis, Snap chairman Michael Lynton, and former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch.

Letter Overview

According to CNBC, the letter emphasized that electing Harris as president is the best way to support democracy and the economy’s strength, security, and stability.

The signatories believe Harris would implement fair policies that uphold the rule of law and foster a stable business environment.

The letter was not aimed at swaying the public but rather positioned as a political statement to boost Harris’s profile, especially with the first presidential debate just days away.

Harris and crypto

Larsen’s backing for Harris is notable due to Ripple’s consistent advocacy for blockchain innovation and drive to ensure that pro-crypto candidates are elected. Due to this, the firm has contributed millions to Fairshake, a federal super PAC supporting pro-crypto and pro-innovation candidates.

However, Larsen’s endorsement of Harris may seem unexpected since she has not publicly shared her position on the crypto sector.

Nevertheless, Larsen’s endorsement also signals Harris’s growing support within the crypto industry.

Although much of the sector favors former President Donald Trump for his pro-crypto policies, there is increasing interest in Harris. Recently, crypto executives and advocates reportedly discussed raising $100,000 for Harris’s campaign, hoping to influence her stance on crypto regulation if she wins.

J.P. Theriot, co-founder of Uphold, also voiced his support for Harris on X (formerly Twitter). Additionally, Harris’s campaign has begun accepting crypto donations via Coinbase.

Despite this support, Harris currently trails Trump in the decentralized prediction market Polymarket.

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Crypto exchange Coinbase has rejected claims that it breached campaign finance laws.

Alleged violations

On July 30, crypto researcher Molly White alleged that the crypto trading platform’s $25 million donation to Fairshake, a crypto Super Political Action Committee (PAC), might have violated campaign finance rules.

According to the researcher, the donation occurred around a period when the exchange was in active negotiations for a federal government contract with the US Marshals Service (USMS). The contract, assigned to Coinbase in July, required a platform to provide custody and trading services for the digital assets seized during law enforcement investigations.

White pointed out that federal laws prohibit political contributions from entities involved in federal contracts to prevent influence over the contract awarding process.

So, White stated:

“If the contribution is indeed a violation of campaign finance law, it would be the largest such violation by a huge margin — with past violations maxing out with contributions of around $1 million.”

Coinbase response

Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, has labeled White’s report as misinformation.

Grewal clarified that Coinbase was not a federal contractor under 11 CFR 115.1 and that USMS wasn’t paying the firm with appropriated funds. He wrote:

“Whether intentional or not, this is misinformation. Coinbase is not a federal contractor under the plain language of 11 CFR 115.1. USMS isn’t paying us with appropriated funds—something it made clear in the public RFP.”

Grewal further shared images that showed that the cited regulations defined a government contractor as an entity paid with Congress-appropriated funds. Coinbase’s payment, he explained, comes from the proceeds of forfeited assets, not USMS funds.

Another image from Grewal added:

“All funds related to this RFP will be drawn from the Assets Forfeiture Fund, which collects proceeds from the sale of forfeited property under the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program.”

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