Crypto Fundraising Startup Sets Sights on Midterm Election Donations

Engage Raise, Engage Lab’s donation platform that launched in July 2022, currently works with 16 congressional candidates to facilitate cryptocurrency contributions

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

key takeaways

  • The crypto community cares about politics now more than ever
  • Donating in fiat does nothing to help advance the crypto agenda, crypto fundraising startup co-founder said

Political software company Engage Labs is banking on people putting their crypto where their votes are, and they are helping candidates make it possible.

Digital fundraising is an essential part of electioneering, Engage CEO Martin Dobelle told Blockworks — so supplying the picks and shovels for candidates to accept crypto donations is a logical next step. 

“Politics is more important than ever for the blockchain space and for the future of blockchain innovation,” Dobelle said. “There obviously has been an increase in political contributions from the space, but most of it has not been in the form of crypto, and — from talking with voters — we know people would have loved to do it.” 

Engage Raise, the firm’s donation platform that launched in July 2022, is now working with 16 US congressional candidates to facilitate cryptocurrency contributions directly to candidates. The platform is helpful for candidates and, especially, their compliance and finance teams that might not be as experienced with digital assets, Dobelle said. 

“We had a pretty easy time signing up a slate of candidates,” Dobelle said. “We’re a nonpartisan company; we’re a public benefit company; and we care about civic engagement in the digital age. We think for that to really be credible, it can’t be partisan.” 

The team declined to comment on how many donations candidates have received through the platform, but said the average has been about $1,000 per donor. The most popular token for donations has been the stablecoin USDC, followed by Ethereum’s native ether (ETH). 

It’s no surprise crypto-conscious voters are taking a more active role in campaign financing, according to Jeffrey Howard, the head of North American business development and institutional sales at digital asset and software-as-a-service provider OSL.

“This election is the most consequential election for crypto,” Howard said. “Prior to [the last session of congress], crypto just wasn’t an issue…regulators weren’t paying attention to it, therefore, politicians weren’t paying attention to it.” 

The landscape has changed, though, Howard added. 

Dobelle, for his part, said that in order to persuade policymakers that cryptoassets are a “legitimate financial tool for the future” it “doesn’t help your case” to make a donation via a check or another form of fiat. 

“That’s why we’re seeing increasing demand on the part of people in the community to send money in crypto,” he said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

tg trading bot report graphic.png

Research

Telegram trading bots have found their primary niche in highly speculative token launches and retail-dominated memecoin markets, with many features specifically tailored to token sniping and copy-trading strategies.

article-image

The investor criticized Michael Saylor’s plan to render his personal bitcoin holdings inaccessible to anyone else forever

article-image

The exchange has structural defenses and protocols to limit manipulations

article-image

Upshift is being spun out of August, which raised $10 million earlier this month

article-image

DeFi can make markets “faster” and “more transparent,” said the CEO — but what does that mean for the dollar?

article-image

As the markets end a rocky Q1, investors wait for tariff announcements and Trump’s “Liberation Day”

article-image

Off The Grid’s Web3 lead shares details on the game’s economy and how the token will be integrated