Young crypto voter affiliation in US swing states split equally — Coinbase

Cryptocurrency may be less of a partisan issue in key areas that may determine the outcome of the 2024 United States presidential election.

According to research commissioned by Coinbase, roughly the same percentage of voters under 35 who hold crypto in US swing states identify as either Democrats or Republicans: 41% to 39%, respectively. The data gathered by Impact Research in July did not indicate whether crypto holders were polled before or after US President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection in November.

“Young voters can tip the scales for either party – and this is all the more critical in battleground states where a handful of ballots can mean the path to victory for either party,” said Coinbase.

In previous elections, turnout among young voters may have contributed to one political party winning an election. Research suggested that roughly half of eligible voters between 18 and 29 voted in the 2020 US elections, reportedly an 11-point increase over that in 2016. 

However, data from Pew Research showed this pattern may not always apply to midterm elections. In 2022, roughly 36% of people who voted in the midterms were under 50, compared with 40% in 2018. According to Coinbase, candidates representing either political party “must pay attention to the young, diverse, pro-crypto constituency that can make or break campaigns” in 2024.

Making it partisan?

During his political career, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has moved from calling Bitcoin (BTC) a “scam” and “based on thin air” to creating a line of non-fungible tokens and advocating for all BTC to be mined in the US. The Democratic ticket, under nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, has been largely silent on digital assets since their launch on July 21.

Democrats are holding their party convention in Chicago from Aug. 19 to 22. Some industry leaders and pundits have suggested they do not expect to see the presidential nominee address digital assets at the event. The party updated its official platform on Aug. 18 without mentioning crypto or blockchain.

As of Aug. 19, many polls show Harris and Trump in a statistical tie nationwide, with either candidate leading or trailing slightly in crucial swing states. During the 2020 election, President Biden defeated Trump due to roughly 80,000 votes combined across three states.