Key Takeaways
- The exchange will donate $1 million to the Freedom Fund PAC and increase its 2025 commitment to America First Digital to $1 million.
- He raised alarm that crypto’s foundational rights, including self-custody and decentralized access, remain under threat
Leading crypto exchange, Kraken pledged $2 million to two politically aligned groups as part of what it calls an ongoing battle to defend core crypto freedoms in the US.
Taking to X, Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi in a post on tuesday announced that the exchange will donate $1 million to the Freedom Fund PAC and further increase its 2025 commitment to America First Digital to $1 million.
Announcing Kraken’s latest commitments on X, Sethi argued that although the sector has won some important victories since Donald Trump entered the White House, “the fight for crypto in the United States is far from over.”
While situating crypto policy in the context of fundamental rights to privacy and financial freedom, he said Kraken backs principles including the right to self-custody of assets, and the ability to build and use decentralized systems without permission.
He raised alarm that crypto’s foundational rights, including self-custody and decentralized access, remain under threat from “regulatory uncertainty”. “The fight for crypto in the United States is far from over,” Sethi wrote on X.
Sethi described the donations as “strategic investments in the legal and regulatory frameworks that will define crypto’s future,” adding that Kraken is “not backing a party” but supporting principles like the right to self-custody your assets, the ability to build and use decentralized systems without permission, the freedom to opt out of surveillance-based finance, the future of open, composable infrastructure that anyone, anywhere can access.
The latest development comes weeks after Kraken acquired Breakout, a prop crypto trading firm, reflective of the firm’s intent to expand more in the digital asset sector. Kraken’s move comes amid several crypto advocacy groups putting in their best foot forward to bring in digital asset-friendly regulations.
Early in September, a new crypto-focused political action committee, Fellowship PAC, launched with over $100 million in funding to support pro-crypto candidates in US federal elections. During the launch, the firm stated that it aims to prevent an “exodus of talent and entrepreneurs” from crypto firms in the US by helping provide regulatory clarity.
The development also comes amidst a significant churn in the crypto legislation in the United States. Last month, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, said that a digital asset market structure bill will end up on US President Donald Trump’s desk “before the end of the year.”
