Crypto Super PAC Raises $190 Million War Chest for 2026 Midterm Elections
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The cryptocurrency industry is opening its wallet for the 2026 midterms, hoping to recreate the political influence it wielded during the 2024 election cycle. Fairshake, the industry's leading super PAC, announced it has assembled a $191 million war chest for the upcoming congressional races.
According to FEC filings, the group pulled in $132.83 million during 2025 alone. Add in leftover funds from 2024, and Fairshake now commands over $190 million in political firepower. The donor list reads like a who's who of crypto heavyweights: Ripple Labs (XRP) contributed $25 million, Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) matched that with another $25 million, and Andreessen Horowitz chipped in $24 million.
This isn't Fairshake's first rodeo. The PAC flexed serious muscle in 2024, spending north of $195 million to back pro-crypto congressional candidates. One notable expenditure: more than $10 million dedicated to defeating former lawmaker Katie Porter's California Senate campaign, according to Open Secrets. For comparison, the Bitcoin Freedom PAC, another crypto-focused political group, entered 2026 with just $78,667 in cash on hand.
Cracks in the Coalition
But here's where things get interesting. Despite the united front on fundraising, the crypto industry is showing some internal fractures over actual policy. A crypto market structure bill designed to split regulatory oversight between agencies has stalled in the Senate, partly because major PAC donors can't agree on what they want.
Less than 24 hours before a scheduled Senate Banking markup, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong threw cold water on the latest draft, posting on X that it "would be materially worse than the current status quo." Meanwhile, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz broke ranks, voicing their support for the same legislation.
The plot thickened this month after a closed-door meeting where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly urged Senate Democrats to push the legislation "over the finish line." SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, a vocal Bitcoin (BTC) advocate, connected the dots between Schumer's sudden urgency and the flood of crypto money pouring into midterm campaigns. When an industry drops $190 million on elections, politicians tend to pay attention.
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