CoinDesk Report:
The Black Keys, a candid liberal indie rock duo, will be holding a concert in their hometown of Ohio this week to support a political campaign for cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the affiliated political action committee (PAC) for cryptocurrency is investing millions of dollars into the state’s Senate race to promote a controversial pro-MAGA Republican candidate.
On Friday night, The Black Keys will be performing a free show in Akron, their hometown, providing free food and drinks to attendees, sponsored by Stand With Crypto, a political organization supporting cryptocurrency.
This event is part of a series of extravagant and free “America Loves Crypto” concerts organized by Stand With Crypto in swing states leading up to the US presidential election. Recent events held in Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Detroit attracted attendees with free refreshments and headline performances, including Smokers and Big Sean.
These events are ostensibly meant to showcase the grassroots political power of American cryptocurrency owners as a voting bloc, with Coinbase actively pushing to influence the 2024 elections.
Cryptocurrency exchanges, like other companies focused on cryptocurrency, have seen a flood of hundreds of millions of dollars pouring into super PACs over the past few months, with these committees spending record amounts on crucial congressional races that could determine control of Congress.
Among these PACs, Fairshake easily became the largest special interest spender in the 2024 elections, with support from wealthy pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC more than doubling.
While these groups have begun pouring money into dozens of races nationwide, no election has attracted as much funding from political action committees as the fiercely contested Senate race in Ohio. In this race, incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown is attempting to fend off a challenge from outspoken MAGA businessman Bernie Moreno, with Coinbase’s affiliated PAC spending around $40 million to flip the seat for Republicans.
It makes sense for cryptocurrency lobbying groups to be determined to unseat Brown, as he has long been skeptical of the industry and a close ally of industry antagonist Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
But Brown’s conservative challenger is not without controversy himself. Despite being an outspoken cryptocurrency advocate, Moreno, supported by Donald Trump, has recently garnered attention for unsubstantiated racial conspiracy theories alleging Haitian immigrants in Ohio eat their neighbors’ pets and steal government services. Last month, the businessman also landed in hot water for claiming that abortion is “not a problem” for women over 50.
Therefore, the activities closely associated with Moreno’s top fundraisers align well with The Black Keys, who have previously expressed commitment to liberal causes. During President Trump’s term, the band’s drummer, Patrick Carney, appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and described himself and his lead vocalist, Dan Auerbach, as “fairly liberal assholes.”
It is currently unclear what prompted the band to participate in Friday’s cryptocurrency-themed event in Ohio. The Black Keys have made playful references to digital cryptocurrency and NFTs in their recent album promotions, but beyond that, they seem to have made no real public statements on digital assets.
However, it has been a challenging year for the rock duo. Earlier this summer, The Keys canceled their national tour reportedly due to poor ticket sales and parted ways with their manager. In a now-deleted tweet, Carney said the band was “done,” but did not provide further details.
Decrypt reached out to Stand With Crypto to inquire about the compensation The Black Keys will receive for their performance at the “America Loves Crypto” event on Friday but did not receive an immediate response.
Meanwhile, the hefty spending by cryptocurrency lobbying groups in Ohio’s Senate race appears to be paying off. According to polling aggregators, while Brown held a lead of over 6 percentage points earlier this summer, Moreno has now nearly erased that gap, making the race highly competitive.
According to new campaign finance reports, Fairshake has recently injected $15 million into a fund specifically designed to assist Moreno, the beneficiary of which was announced on Sunday.
