Crypto Midterm Election Spending Reaches $176 Million as Industry Targets New Congress
The cryptocurrency sector has poured $176 million into midterm races to build a bipartisan coalition and protect its future on Capitol Hill.
Crypto Midterm Election Spending Reaches $176 Million as Industry Targets New Congress
The cryptocurrency sector has poured $176 million into midterm races to build a bipartisan coalition and protect its future on Capitol Hill.
Record Crypto Midterm Spending Targets Next Congress
The cryptocurrency industry has spent approximately $176 million across more than 100 midterm races during the current election cycle, according to a Reuters review of campaign spending data. This substantial financial push forms part of a broader strategy to establish a bipartisan coalition in Congress capable of protecting the sector after President Donald Trump leaves office.
Fairshake, the digital asset sector's largest super PAC, is directing the overarching political strategy. Having previously spent $196 million in the 2024 cycle, Fairshake and its affiliate PACs directed about $150.8 million toward the midterms through October 20, while various other crypto groups contributed an additional $25 million.
According to Reuters, Fairshake reported that 53 of the 58 candidates it supported in primaries or special elections emerged victorious, securing their spots on the November 3 ballot. Major industry players including Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz serve as the primary financiers behind these efforts.
Super PAC Strategy and Watchdog Scrutiny
Super PACs operate under rules allowing them to raise and spend unlimited sums without coordinating directly with individual political campaigns. Fairshake's advertisements run through various affiliates bearing names such as Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, frequently emphasizing broader issues like taxes and immigration rather than digital assets directly.
The watchdog group Public Citizen identified cryptocurrency as the largest corporate spender in federal races for 2026. Industry strategists and campaign staff describe the unprecedented financial outlay as a calling card designed to build lasting relationships with elected officials.
Colin McLaren, head of government relations at the Solana Policy Institute—which contributed $4.9 million to the midterms—characterized the expenditure as an investment in the future, per Reuters reporting.
From Past Opposition to Legislative Goals
This aggressive political engagement marks a sharp pivot from 2018, when lawmakers struggled to secure a meeting room in House or Senate office buildings for the first bipartisan crypto roundtable, ultimately gathering at the Library of Congress instead. Subsequently, under the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission levied more than $6 billion in penalties across 98 cases, according to a study by Georgetown University Law.
Confronted with intense regulatory pressure, industry executives concluded that they needed substantial political force. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad helped launch Stand With Crypto and Fairshake in 2023, contributing to a rise in lawmakers rated "A" by Stand With Crypto from 96 at launch to 332.
Legislative milestones followed, including the enactment of the GENIUS Act in 2025 with broad bipartisan support to create the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. However, the industry's subsequent legislative goal, the Clarity Act—which would place oversight under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission—stalled in the Senate after Democrats blocked a final vote over an ethics provision targeting the Trump family's crypto holdings.
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