2024

David Vance

Donald Trump

Crypto-focused PACs, backed by the industry’s giants, are making waves in Senate campaigns to elect crypto-friendly leaders.
Crypto-focused political action committees (<a href="https://crypto.news/crypto-bulls-take-aim-us-politics-with-80m-war-chest/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">PACs</a>) like Fairshake are rising, with significant financial contributions to Senate races.
Backed by prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry, these groups aim to support political candidates who share their vision for the future of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
The impact of PACs was seen in the substantial $10 million <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/01/crypto-super-pac-katie-porter-attack-ads" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">campaign</a> against Katie Porter, a critic of cryptocurrency and a Democratic Senate candidate in California, who recently <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/katie-porter-california-senate-primary-rigged-billionaires-lost-1876748" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">lost</a> her election.
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 Californians aren’t fooled: Shadowy crypto billionaires don’t want a strong voice for consumers in the Senate. They fear people who call out corporate greed, so they're spending millions on dishonest dark-money ads against me. Their ads will never stop me from fighting for YOU. <a href="https://t.co/reVyV4Ntnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/reVyV4Ntnn</a>— Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) <a href="https://twitter.com/katieporteroc/status/1757445157488837069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">February 13, 2024</a>
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Porter has been known for her critical stance on <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-colleagues-press-six-cryptomining-companies-on-extraordinarily-high-energy-use-and-climate-impacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">concerns</a> about the environmental impact of crypto mining.
Fairshake’s war chest, significantly filled by donations from industry giants like <a href="https://crypto.news/tag/coinbase/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Coinbase</a>, <a href="https://crypto.news/tag/xrp/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ripple</a> Labs, and <a href="https://crypto.news/tag/a16z/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Andreessen Horowitz</a>, has <a href="https://crypto.news/coinbase-a16z-ripple-pour-millions-into-fairshake-crypto-lobbying-group/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">amassed</a> over $85 million.
Why this intense involvement? The crypto industry is at a crucial moment. It’s seeking legitimacy, grappling with public skepticism, and, most crucially, aiming to overcome the regulatory challenges.&nbsp;
Let’s investigate the goals of these well-funded political action committees and their influence on Senate races.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-understanding-crypto-s-political-influence-strong">Understanding crypto’s political influence</h2>
The strategy of these PACs is more than just financial support. They’re actively engaging in states where the competition is tough, leveraging their successes, such as the substantial investment to defeat Rep. Katie Porter in California, to move towards more critical Senate contests.
Led by Fairshake, these PACs are mobilizing substantial financial resources, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-21/crypto-super-pac-fairshake-gets-4-9-million-from-winklevoss-twins?sref=3REHEaVI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">including</a> a notable $4.9 million funding from the Winklevoss twins, to support candidates sympathetic to the crypto industry while challenging those against it.
According to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/poll-us-voters-who-own-crypto-are-on-the-rise-just-in-time-for-midterms" data-type="link" data-id="https://blockworks.co/news/poll-us-voters-who-own-crypto-are-on-the-rise-just-in-time-for-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">polls</a>, the “crypto voters” segment is growing, making up 44% of voters across the U.S. People who either own or consider owning digital assets could sway election outcomes.
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Cryptocurrency is becoming a significant topic in political campaigns, as some candidates support and promote blockchain technology as a key part of their agenda.
Politicians like Ted Budd, Blake Masters, Tim Ryan, and JD Vance have made crypto-friendly legislation a cornerstone of their past campaigns, meaning digital assets could become a crucial issue in future elections.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-what-is-fairshake-up-to-strong">What is Fairshake up to?</h2>
Fairshake <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/09/crypto-super-pacs-ohio-montana-00146138" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/09/crypto-super-pacs-ohio-montana-00146138" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">focuses</a> on four critical Senate races: the general elections in Ohio and Montana, and the Democratic primaries in Maryland and Michigan.&nbsp;
This choice is based on the vulnerability of incumbent Democratic senators in Ohio and Montana. These senators are known for their skeptical views on crypto, and <a href="https://crypto.news/donald-trump-crypto-tolerance/" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/donald-trump-crypto-tolerance/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Donald Trump</a> won the state election in 2020.
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio had previously <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/12/18/sherrod-brown-crypto-ban-ftx-senate-banking-regulation-coinbase/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">suggested</a> a nationwide crypto ban, and Senator Jon Tester of Montana had <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-senator-says-sees-no-215004648.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">questioned</a> the very existence of crypto.
However, Fairshake’s approach is more complex. Rather than direct opposition, the PAC keeps its options open, suggesting that if these senators adjust their positions to be more crypto-friendly, they might still win Fairshake’s support.
You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/us-cbdc-debate-heats-up-amid-elections-does-the-country-need-a-digital-dollar/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> US CBDC debate heats up amid elections. Does the country need a digital dollar? </a>
In the Democratic primaries of Maryland and Michigan, the PAC is stepping into less charted territories. The candidates in these races, such as Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin in Michigan and David Trone in Maryland, have not prominently featured crypto in their campaign narratives.&nbsp;
Slotkin has limited her public comments on crypto to transparency in politicians’ crypto trades, while in Maryland, neither major candidate has taken a definitive public stance on crypto.
The backdrop to this strategic push is the dramatic rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and his crypto exchange <a href="https://crypto.news/tag/ftx/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">FTX</a>, which previously funneled millions into congressional races.
Fairshake and its affiliated PACs, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, represent a new phase in this engagement, aiming to support candidates likely to foster a regulatory environment conducive to crypto’s growth.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-the-sec-s-stranglehold-strong">The SEC’s stranglehold&nbsp;</h2>
The aggressive stance of PACs supporting crypto in the upcoming elections can be largely attributed to the regulatory environment shaped by the SEC under current and previous administrations.
The <a href="https://crypto.news/tag/sec/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">SEC</a>, under Chairman Gary <a href="https://crypto.news/how-sec-chair-gary-gensler-moved-from-crypto-advisor-to-antagonist/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Gensler</a>, has notably increased its scrutiny and regulatory actions against crypto, labeling the market as “rife with fraud, scams, and abuse” and likening the current state of crypto to the “Wild West” without adequate investor protection.&nbsp;
This perspective has led to significant enforcement actions, including against major players like <a href="https://crypto.news/exchanges/binance/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Binance</a> and Coinbase, accusing them of operating unregistered exchanges and selling unregistered securities, actions viewed by many, including Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong, as stifling innovation and giving traditional financial institutions an unfair advantage​​​​.
SEC’s regulatory approach has also created a chilling effect on the decentralized finance (<a href="https://crypto.news/tag/defi/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">defi</a>) projects and the broader crypto ecosystem, as developers and entrepreneurs face uncertainty about pursuing innovations in the face of potential SEC enforcement actions​​.&nbsp;
Moreover, the classification of popular cryptocurrencies like Solana (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/solana/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">SOL</a>), Cardano (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/cardano/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ADA</a>), and Ripple (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/xrp/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XRP</a>) as securities subjects them to stringent regulations, potentially hampering their growth and limiting their applications in DeFi projects​​.
In response to these and other similar regulatory challenges, PACs like Fairshake have become more aggressive, seeking to support candidates who favor a more innovation-friendly regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.&nbsp;
Their actions suggest a blend of financial muscle, policy advocacy, and direct involvement in political campaigns, aiming to influence the immediate electoral cycle and shape the broader lines of crypto regulation and acceptance in the U.S. political mainstream.
Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/turning-doubters-into-investors-how-big-names-shed-crypto-skepticism/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Turning doubters into investors: how big names shed crypto skepticism </a>

From donations to decisions: how crypto PACs target Senate races

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