lobbying

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced on Wednesday that it will make an additional donation of $20 million to the bipartisan advocacy organization Public First Action, bringing its total commitment to $40 million. Anthropic stated that the decision for the additional donation stems from the continuous enhancement of AI model capabilities (including its self-developed Mythos model) and the potential risks it brings.Public First Action is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to public education on AI transparency and safety. The organization is associated with three super political action committees (super PACs) and plans to support candidates advocating for AI safety across both parties. Anthropic emphasized that the donations are solely for supporting Public First Action's policy mission and cannot be used to influence the election of specific candidates.In a statement, Anthropic noted that AI policy decisions will impact various aspects of public life, including the labor market and national security, and the company hopes to promote "flexible regulation" to manage risks while reaping the benefits of AI. Currently, the super PAC "Leading the Future," which advocates for rapid AI development and light regulation, has received significant funding from supporters including OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and venture capital firm a16z. As AI increasingly becomes a topic in elections, public education and lobbying efforts by advocacy groups are continuing to ramp up.

The cryptocurrency lobbying organization TDC has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the enforcement of the Illinois Digital Asset Tax Act.This tax applies to any company headquartered in Illinois or operating in the state that provides digital asset services in the state.

According to Decrypt, UK Labour MP Phil Brickell has requested the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to investigate Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, examining whether he engaged in improper lobbying regarding the Bank of England's cryptocurrency policy after receiving significant financial support from Tether's major investor Christopher Harborne.Reports indicate that Farage privately met with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey in September 2025, where he advocated for abandoning the launch of the central bank digital currency "Britcoin" and opposed limits on individual holdings of stablecoins.Christopher Harborne is alleged to hold approximately 12% of Tether's equity and previously provided Farage with an undisclosed personal gift of £5 million, as well as donating around £15 million to Reform UK.

According to the Financial Times, Apple is lobbying the Trump administration for approval to purchase memory chips from Chinese chipmaker Changxin Storage. Due to multiple factors leading to a rise in memory prices, Apple unusually raised the prices of MacBook and iPad on Thursday, resulting in a market value loss of $263 billion. Apple hopes to alleviate the financial pressure from suppliers by including Changxin Storage in its list of memory suppliers.Changxin Storage and Yangtze Memory Technologies have currently been placed on the U.S. Department of Defense's blacklist of Chinese military companies (the 1260H list). The U.S. Department of Commerce had planned to add Changxin Storage to the entity list last year, but the White House postponed the plan due to ongoing trade negotiations with China at that time. Currently, aside from Chinese companies, the global memory chip industry is mainly dominated by three companies: U.S.-based Micron, and South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix.

According to Cointelegraph, three major crypto lobbying organizations—the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Innovation Council, and the Digital Chamber of Commerce—jointly wrote to the U.S. Congress, requesting the unaltered passage of the "Mining and Staking Tax Clarity Act" without further amendments. The bill allows miners and stakers to choose to pay taxes either when they receive crypto rewards or when they sell their assets, aiming to address liquidity issues caused by "taxation on phantom income."Democratic Congressman Steven Horsford proposed an amendment to limit the deferral of crypto reward taxes to five years, but the CEO of the Crypto Innovation Council stated that the amendment would "undermine" the bill and only generate "negligible revenue." The American Bankers Association opposes the bill, claiming it gives cryptocurrencies a "significant advantage," while crypto lobbying groups believe that renegotiating the already reached compromise will "revive the issues the bill aims to resolve."

Hyperliquid's lobbying organization, Hyperliquid Policy Center, issued a statement welcoming the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s latest regulatory initiatives, including the approval of the first listed perpetual contract in the U.S., the release of a policy statement on the listing of perpetual derivatives, related interpretive guidance, and a no-action relief letter, as well as staff consultation documents regarding 24/7 trading, clearing, and settlement.The Hyperliquid Policy Center stated that these initiatives represent the first time in a long while that regulators have explicitly acknowledged the legitimacy and importance of perpetual contracts in price discovery and risk management. It pointed out that past regulatory uncertainty has led to related markets and liquidity flowing overseas, weakening the U.S.'s competitiveness in the global derivatives market.The Hyperliquid Policy Center also expressed its eagerness to work closely with the CFTC to promote the establishment of a regulatory framework that applies not only to centralized intermediaries but also to on-chain protocols. Currently, most perpetual contract trading activities actually occur in on-chain markets.

Several core institutions have chosen the 1155 F Street building in Washington as their office location, including Coinbase, DCG, the Blockchain Association, and Injective on the third floor, as well as the Solana Policy Institute, Hyperliquid Policy Center, and DeFi Education Fund on the tenth floor. In addition, the venture capital firm Paradigm is set to move into the building. According to market news, White House officials, Capitol Hill staff, state legislators, and congressional candidates seeking cryptocurrency support have all visited this building. Therefore, it can be said that the 1155 F Street building in Washington has become the lobbying command center for the cryptocurrency industry.

In response to Bloomberg's report on CME and ICE pressuring the CFTC regarding Hyperliquid, the Hyperliquid Policy Center, a lobbying organization led by prominent crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky and funded by the Hyper Foundation, tweeted that the concerns lack basis.The organization stated that Hyperliquid publishes complete on-chain transaction records in real-time, with transparency far exceeding that of traditional exchanges, which serves as a strong deterrent against insider trading and price manipulation, and is beneficial for regulatory agencies and law enforcement to conduct monitoring and investigations.Additionally, Hyperliquid offers 24/7 uninterrupted trading, effectively eliminating price gaps between the opening and closing of traditional markets. The organization acknowledged that current U.S. laws have not yet made specific provisions for on-chain derivatives markets and will continue to work with Washington policymakers to promote the implementation of relevant regulatory frameworks.Previously, the Hyperliquid Policy Center was established on February 18 of this year in Washington, with former Blockchain Association and Variant Chief Legal Officer Jake Chervinsky serving as CEO, receiving a donation of 1 million HYPE from the Hyper Foundation, focusing on promoting a compliant regulatory path for DeFi in the United States.

According to market news, Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini submitted revisions to the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, requesting the removal of the provision in the digital asset bill that requires trading platforms to list only tokens that are "not readily susceptible to manipulation."The three companies believe that this provision will increase the difficulty of listing small-cap, low-liquidity tokens and could be used by future CFTC chairs as a tool for tightening regulation. The current draft aims to grant the CFTC broader powers over the spot markets for "digital commodities" such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Senate Agriculture Committee has already passed the relevant sections along party lines, and further significant modifications will be made to gain support from the Democrats.

According to Crypto In America, the U.S. CLARITY Act has entered a critical negotiation period this week, and whether it will receive the long-awaited committee review in April or be postponed until May will depend on recent progress. The Senate Banking Committee will focus on the confirmation hearing of Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Walsh at the beginning of the week. After that, the committee must decide by Friday whether to notify the review of the bill in order to hold a vote in the week of April 27.The banking group represented by the North Carolina Bankers Association is lobbying against the stablecoin yield restriction provisions in the bill, urging members to call Senator Thom Tillis's office to request amendments. It is reported that industry groups are also reaching out to other committee members.After more than two months of negotiations, crypto companies and banks reached a compromise at the end of last month, which the crypto industry is generally satisfied with. However, after the White House Council of Economic Advisers report downplayed the risks of stablecoin yields to the banking system, calls for amendments from the banking side have intensified.Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council, criticized banks on the X platform for "further lobbying out of greed or ignorance." Senator Tillis proposed holding an in-person "crypto carnival" meeting, but this may extend the timeline. He emphasized that there are still issues to negotiate but expressed optimism about scheduling the review in the coming weeks.In addition to yield issues, the bill also needs to address ethical and DeFi-related provisions. This week's progress will determine the fate of the bill, and the market is highly attentive.

According to Cointelegraph, Texas-based apparel company Beba and the crypto lobbying organization DeFi Education Fund have voluntarily withdrawn their lawsuit against the U.S. SEC filed in 2024.The lawsuit challenged the SEC's regulatory approach to airdrops, accusing it of implementing digital asset enforcement policies without a formal rulemaking process, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The voluntary dismissal document referenced the work of the SEC's crypto task force and multiple speeches by Commissioner Hester Peirce last year, where Peirce suggested that airdropped tokens do not qualify as securities and mentioned that the SEC is considering establishing an exemption framework for airdrops, as well as the White House's January encouragement for the SEC to create a "safe harbor" for specific airdrops.DeFi Education Fund stated that, given the work of the SEC's crypto task force and recent speeches indicating that the commission's stance on free airdrops may be shifting, it is no longer necessary to continue the lawsuit. The dismissal is without prejudice, preserving the right to refile in the future.

Data shows that lobbying groups related to the cryptocurrency industry have invested approximately $271 million to influence the 2026 U.S. elections, mainly for political activities such as advertising. Among them, the super PAC FairShake is one of the main sources of funding, with donors including Coinbase, Ripple, Uniswap Labs, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.The data also indicates that about 40% of the related funds are directed towards Republican candidates, about 3% towards Democratic candidates, and the remainder supports independent candidates. Industry insiders say that as the 2026 U.S. midterm elections approach, lobbying activities in the cryptocurrency industry are expected to continue to increase.

According to market news, the American Bankers Association has listed "preventing stablecoins from generating yields" as its top lobbying goal for 2026. The association believes that interest-bearing stablecoins could become an alternative to bank deposits, potentially leading to the outflow of trillions of dollars from the traditional banking system, thereby weakening banks' lending capabilities and jeopardizing their core role in the financial system.In response, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire countered at the Davos Forum that concerns about stablecoin yields affecting bank deposits are "completely absurd," pointing out that yields can enhance user stickiness and that in the future, stablecoins will become a necessary payment system for AI agents to conduct large-scale transactions. Opponents argue that this move aims to protect bank interests, restrict financial technology innovation, and put the dollar at a disadvantage in the competition with China's digital yuan.

ChainCatcher news, OpenAI has requested California's political finance regulators to investigate a nonprofit organization that challenges its billion-dollar business plan, accusing it of violating state lobbying laws, and once again raising questions about the organization's relationship with Musk.The complaint submitted to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) alleges that the "Coalition for AI Nonprofit Integrity" may have fabricated the identity of its leaders and failed to report lobbying expenditures related to a now-weakened state bill that could prevent the ChatGPT maker from transitioning into a for-profit entity. This is the latest escalation of OpenAI's pressure on the organization.Meanwhile, OpenAI is also engaged in a legal battle with Musk. Musk, who was a business partner of OpenAI, opposes the company's restructuring plan for funding, believing it deviates from its original nonprofit mission of "serving the public good." CANI spokesperson Becky Warren stated in an email that her organization had not received the complaint as of Thursday. (Jinshi)

ChainCatcher news, the Coinbase crypto lobbying group Stand With Crypto, along with several crypto companies, has released a joint letter urging U.S. House representatives to quickly pass the CLARITY Act during next week's meeting to clarify the regulatory framework for the crypto industry. "We know that some are trying to politicize crypto legislation, but crypto technology is profoundly reshaping the global economy. If the U.S. does not quickly implement friendly policies to support blockchain technology, it may fall behind other countries."

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times, the Indian cryptocurrency industry is actively lobbying the government to reduce the 30% capital gains tax and 1% transaction tax implemented since 2022.Currently, the high tax burden has led to over 90% of crypto transactions flowing overseas. With Trump likely to return to the White House and publicly support digital assets, the Indian government's attitude towards the crypto industry is becoming more lenient. The frequency of communication between the industry and policymakers has increased from once every six months to monthly or even weekly.Accounting firm Grant Thornton expects the Indian crypto market size to grow from the current $2.5 billion to over $15 billion by 2035.

ChainCatcher message, a user asked Zhao Changpeng: "Has the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) asked you for money to stop defaming you?"Zhao Changpeng responded: "They haven't asked me for money to stop defamation, but I've heard they take money to smear us. There are rumors that a large venture capital firm that invested in a certain cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. is heavily lobbying against 'Binance helping the U.S. become the cryptocurrency capital.' They have spent millions of dollars on 'lobbying activities.' This is a sign of fear of competition."

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by The Block, Bank of America is actively lobbying for regulations on stablecoin issuance that favor banks rather than tech companies. Currently, there is a high-stakes power struggle between traditional banks, tech giants, and cryptocurrency companies like Tether.According to insiders, Bank of America is primarily lobbying lawmakers through industry organizations such as the Bank Policy Institute and the American Bankers Association to establish rules that benefit mature banks in issuing stablecoins, while restricting large tech companies (non-banks) like Amazon and Meta from issuing dollar-backed crypto tokens.