Crypto Industry Pours $176 Million Into Midterms as It Courts Congress

The crypto industry has spent roughly $176 million across more than 100 midterm races this cycle, according to a Reuters review of campaign finance filings, in a coordinated effort to lock in a bipartisan congressional coalition that can defend the sector after President Donald Trump leaves office.

Fairshake, the industry's largest super PAC, is directing the strategy for the second consecutive cycle. Through October 20, Fairshake and its affiliate PACs had spent about $150.8 million this year, with other crypto groups contributing around $25 million, per Reuters. The group said 53 of the 58 candidates it backed in primaries or special elections won and will appear on the November 3 ballot. For context, Fairshake spent $196 million across the entire 2024 cycle — meaning this year's total already approaches that mark before Election Day.

Who is paying, and how does the machine work?

Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz remain the primary financiers. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums but cannot coordinate with campaigns, so Fairshake routes advertising through affiliates such as "Defend American Jobs" and "Protect Progress." Those ads frequently focus on taxes and immigration rather than digital assets, and voters have little way of identifying the funders.

The watchdog group Public Citizen found crypto was the largest corporate spender in federal races in 2026. Colin McLaren, head of government relations at the Solana Policy Institute — which has contributed $4.9 million to the midterms — described the spending as "an investment in the future."

The scale marks a sharp reversal. In 2018, lawmakers could not secure a room in House or Senate office buildings for the first bipartisan crypto roundtable and met at the Library of Congress instead. Under the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission levied more than $6 billion in penalties across 98 cases, according to a Georgetown University Law study. Executives concluded political force was the remedy. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad helped launch Stand With Crypto and Fairshake in 2023, and the number of lawmakers rated "A" by Stand With Crypto has since risen to 332 from 96.

What does the spending change for the policy agenda?

Legislation has followed the political build-out. The GENIUS Act, enacted in 2025 with broad bipartisan support, created the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. The industry's next objective, the Clarity Act, would place market oversight under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — but that bill stalled this session after Senate Democrats blocked it over an ethics provision that would have forced the Trump family to sell its crypto holdings.

Fairshake helped defeat Sherrod Brown, then chair of the Senate Banking Committee, in 2024, and the industry has since spent more than $68 million on his rematch against Republican Jon Husted, according to AdImpact. Brown's campaign manager, Patrick Eisenhauer, said "the special interests are panicking." In Illinois, Fairshake spent over $10.1 million attacking Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and $2.5 million against state Representative La Shawn Ford, yet both are expected to win on November 3. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each gave roughly $13 million this cycle, most of it to MAGA Inc.

Where public opinion stands

A September Ipsos survey of 1,545 U.S. adults, conducted for the DeFi Education Fund, found 22% have owned or used crypto, up from 18% in 2025, while only 19% believe the U.S. financial system is secure. Some 35% said it is important for candidates to support building next-generation financial technology in the United States — but only 13% said the same when the question named blockchain, crypto or DeFi. Stand With Crypto's leadership argues the crypto vote will decide the midterms.

The November 3 ballot will now test whether $176 million in spending converts into the congressional votes needed to revive the Clarity Act in the next session.