Crypto Sector Spends $176 Million on Midterms to Shape Next Congress

Campaign spending reviewed by Reuters shows the crypto industry has poured roughly $176 million into more than 100 midterm contests this cycle. The outlay is aimed at building a bipartisan coalition in Congress that can shield the sector once President Donald Trump is out of office.

Fairshake, the largest crypto super PAC, is leading that push. It spent $196 million in the 2024 cycle and is again running the strategy. As of October 20, Fairshake and its affiliated PACs had laid out about $150.8 million this year, while other crypto groups spent around $25 million. Fairshake says 53 of the 58 candidates it backed in primaries or special elections won, with those names now appearing on the November 3 ballot, according to Reuters.

Super PACs may take in and spend unlimited funds, but they are barred from coordinating with campaigns. Fairshake’s advertising runs through affiliates called “Defend American Jobs” and “Protect Progress,” and the spots often center on taxes and immigration rather than crypto. Voters have little way of finding out who is paying for them.

The watchdog group Public Citizen has said crypto was the largest corporate spender in 2026 federal races. The same watchdog’s analysis put crypto firms at the top of corporate political spending at that time.

Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz are the lead financiers. Industry strategists and campaign aides describe the spending as a calling card for forging ties with elected officials.

Crypto’s extended push in Congress

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,” per Reuters.

The strategy marks a dramatic reversal. In 2018, a room in the House or Senate office buildings could not be secured for the first bipartisan crypto roundtable, so the meeting took place at the Library of Congress. Later, during the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission imposed more than $6 billion in penalties across 98 cases, a Georgetown University Law study shows.

Executives concluded that political force was necessary. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad helped launch Stand With Crypto and Fairshake in 2023. The number of lawmakers Stand With Crypto rates “A” has grown to 332 from 96 at launch.

Legislative progress followed. The GENIUS Act, enacted in 2025 with strong bipartisan support, created the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. The next industry goal, the Clarity Act, would put the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in charge of oversight. It made no headway in the current session. Senate Democrats blocked a final vote over an ethics provision that would have forced the Trump family to sell its crypto holdings.

Fairshake helped unseat Sherrod Brown, then chair of the Senate Banking Committee, in 2024, and AdImpact data shows the industry has since put more than $68 million into his rematch against Republican Jon Husted.

Fairshake’s ads against Brown make no mention of crypto, and Brown’s campaign manager, Patrick Eisenhauer, said “the special interests are panicking.” In Illinois, Reuters reports, Fairshake spent more than $10.1 million on attacks against Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and $2.5 million opposing state Representative La Shawn Ford; both are still expected to win on November 3.

Each of the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, contributed about $13 million during the current cycle, with most of that money going to MAGA Inc.

Public views on crypto

Public sentiment is split. A September survey of 1,545 U.S. adults conducted by Ipsos for the DeFi Education Fund and reviewed by Bitcoin Magazine found 22% reported owning or using crypto, up from 18% in 2025. Only 19% regard the U.S. financial system as secure.

The same survey found 35% consider it important for candidates to support building the next generation of U.S. financial technology. When the question referenced blockchain, crypto or DeFi, that figure fell to 13%. The DeFi Education Fund is a digital asset advocacy organization, so its framing reflects that outlook.

The leadership of Stand With Crypto maintains that the midterms will be decided by the crypto vote.