Fairshake, the pro-crypto super PAC that dominated November’s U.S. elections and reshaped American digital assets policy, announced Thursday that it has already raised over $116 million to spend on the 2026 midterms. The donations include those from the usual suspects, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, and Ripple—the corporations that principally bankrolled Fairshake’s $300 million blitz in 2024.However, other notable crypto firms and founders have also joined the party. Jump Crypto, the blockchain-focused investment firm, Uniswap exchange creator Uniswap Labs, and crypto investor Robert Leshner—the founder of DeFi platform Compound—all made key investments to Farishake’s 2026 fund as well.“The crypto industry is in the best political and policy position it has ever been,” the PAC said in a statement shared with Decrypt. “We are keeping our foot on the gas.”In barely a year, Fairshake’s tremendous 2024 spending campaign transformed crypto’s status in Washington—from a weakened industry reeling in the face of aggressive regulation, to a booming sector with Congress and the president on speed-dial. Today’s announcement signals that America’s crypto leaders are intent on retaining their newfound power in a city where political pecking orders are constantly in flux.Just as Fairshake’s spend on the 2024 general election was unheard of for a corporate super PAC, so too is their war chest for the 2026 midterms already completely unprecedented. For context, the largest-ever spend by a corporate group in a midterm election was previously just $18 million, by the National Association of Realtors in 2022. While those figures may appear like an astronomical expenditure for American crypto firms, they pale in comparison to the rewards reaped by those same companies in the wake of their political triumph. Ripple, for example, one of Fairshake’s principal backers, has seen its holdings of XRP, a cryptocurrency its founders helped create, explode in value by over $125 billion since November.And, at least for now, the PAC’s recent sweeping victories appear to be front of mind for DC’s powerbrokers. On Wednesday, Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s crypto-affiliated pick for Secretary of Commerce, faced a confirmation hearing that many assumed would focus on the nominee’s intimate relationship with Tether, the world’s top stablecoin.Lutnick only received questions on the subject from a single U.S. senator, Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who even went out of her way to clarify she was no enemy of the digital assets industry.“I’m a big crypto person in general,” she declaredEdited by Andrew HaywardDaily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.Your Email
Ven. Gen 31st, 2025
