Update (Oct. 13, 3:41 am UTC): This article has been updated to reflect that Andreessen Horowitz is one of the contributors funding Fairshake, and not Cantor Fitzgerald.
Affiliate entities of Fairshake, the prominent United States political action committee funded largely by major industry players including venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and blockchain infrastructure firm Ripple Labs, have reported millions of dollars in fresh ad buys. The expenditures are aimed at supporting political candidates perceived as being in favor of pro-digital asset policy, with the country’s midterm elections sitting less than a month away.
Recent federal disclosures have underscored the growing financial clout of the cryptocurrency sector in American electoral politics, as major digital asset stakeholders leverage organized funding mechanisms to shape the legislative landscape in Washington. On Saturday, newly released filings with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) revealed a combined $2.7 million in targeted spending on media campaigns orchestrated by two primary Fairshake affiliate groups: the Defend American Jobs PAC and the Protect Progress PAC.
The two affiliated political action committees reported these substantial expenditures toward media placements and direct mail productions designed to bolster both Democratic and Republican candidates running for seats in the US House of Representatives ahead of the 2026 midterm cycle. The latest round of financial disclosures highlights a calculated, bipartisan approach by crypto-backed political action committees, which have sought to forge alliances across the political aisle to secure long-term regulatory certainty for the blockchain and digital asset industry.
The reported campaign expenditures included significant financial allocations for several high-profile lawmakers. Among the recipients of these media-backed support efforts were more than $76,000 designated for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, over $73,000 allocated for House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, approximately $512,000 directed toward California Representative Pete Aguilar, and a hefty $500,000 supporting New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer.
These latest FEC reports closely followed an announcement made by Fairshake just days earlier, revealing ambitious plans to endorse an additional 32 House candidates for the 2026 elections. This broader endorsement strategy includes six specific candidates who are each slated to receive $1 million in supportive media funding. Interestingly, none of the aforementioned six primary beneficiaries were included directly in the latest batch of Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress expenditures filed over the weekend. However, several influential congressional incumbents did appear across both the broader endorsement list and the specific expenditure reports, including Emmer, Aguilar, Gottheimer, and Thompson.
The staggering financial firepower of the crypto-backed PAC network has become one of the defining narratives of recent American election cycles. As of August, a spokesperson for Fairshake confirmed that the PAC maintained an impressive $122 million in cash on hand. This massive reserve forms the bedrock of its broader midterm election strategy, which focuses relentlessly on placing and retaining more "pro-crypto" candidates within the halls of Congress.
This multi-faceted strategy extends beyond supporting favored incumbents and friendly challengers; it also involves actively opposing politicians who have historically worked against the industry’s legislative priorities. A prime example of this defensive and offensive positioning is Fairshake’s aggressive opposition to the election of former Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s fiercely contested Senate race. The PAC has allocated at least $30 million toward media buys specifically designed to challenge Brown’s political standing. While in office, Brown served as one of the most prominent Democratic voices voting consistently against numerous legislative initiatives considered favorable to the broader cryptocurrency and digital asset industry.
Crypto market structure bill to be a factor in 2026 midterms?
A unifying thread among all the primary targets of Fairshake’s recent spending spree is their legislative track record, specifically regarding the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. Every single lawmaker who became a target of the PAC’s recent financial backing voted in favor of the CLARITY Act when it came before the House in 2025.
The proposed legislation was crafted with the explicit intention of establishing comprehensive market structure rules tailored for the cryptocurrency industry. Among its core provisions, the bill sought to grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)—the federal commodities regulator—significantly more regulatory authority and enforcement oversight over digital assets, helping to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The CLARITY Act succeeded in passing through the House of Representatives thanks to a notable display of bipartisan support, signaling that digital asset policy could transcend traditional partisan divides. However, the legislative momentum stalled abruptly when the bill failed to pass a crucial procedural vote in the United States Senate in September, leaving comprehensive federal market structure reform in legislative limbo.
The failure of the bill to clear the Senate threshold did not go unnoticed by the industry’s political advocacy networks. Stand With Crypto, a prominent grassroots initiative launched by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase that ranks lawmakers and politicians based on their public statements and voting records related to the sector, issued a stern warning following the failed CLARITY vote. The organization cautioned that political candidates who failed to advance necessary industry legislation could face severe "consequences" at the ballot box during the midterms.
Stand With Crypto has been actively working to mobilize crypto-minded voters across the United States for the upcoming election, mirroring the robust mobilization campaigns the group deployed during the 2024 federal races. With millions of dollars in advertising flowing into key congressional districts and an enormous war chest still at its disposal, the digital asset industry’s political apparatus is positioning itself to be a decisive force as voters prepare to head to the polls.
