A super PAC supported by top cryptocurrency companies is emerging as the newest big player in election financing, piling up more victories in Tuesday’s congressional primaries.
Fairshake PAC was launched late last year by more than a dozen crypto firms and has been flooding primary elections with cash. The organization supports candidates on both sides of the aisle who are friendly to the crypto industry, a move designed to eventually help shape future legislation and regulations.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) lost his primary on Tuesday, and while much of the focus centered on the spending from pro-Israel groups, Fairshake was also in the mix. The super PAC spent $2 million to air an ad critical of Bowman. The video opens with a narrator saying, “What happened to decency? It’s gone in Jamaal Bowman’s New York.”
The ad does not mention cryptocurrency, but two recent votes put the New York congressman in the crypto industry’s crosshairs: voting against the House’s Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act and Congress’s effort to overturn the SEC’s crypto account policy.
“Jamaal Bowman fought against setting clear rules of the road for the crypto and blockchain industry, and tonight he’s looking for a new job,” Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Fairshake and its affiliated super PACs, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The crypto and blockchain community will continue to support candidates who believe in innovation and job creation, and reach across the aisle to get things done.”
Fairshake PAC has already become one of the top spenders in the 2024 election cycle. Along with its two affiliated PACs, it has now spent more than $37 million on ads in primary races, according to AdImpact. The group still intends to spend $100 million more to support candidates it sees as pro-crypto.
So far, the group has helped 20 crypto-friendly candidates win primaries, contributing to the victories of Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) for Senate in Indiana, Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) for the open Senate seat in his state, and most recently Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), who is likely to take over Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) seat in Utah.
Cody Carbone, chief policy officer at pro-crypto advocacy group the Digital Chamber, believes the groups are making a huge impact.
“I think what the super PACs have done is really elevated the crypto advocacy game by adding political muscle,” Carbone said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “This issue now becomes relevant at the top of the ticket in the presidential race, and the money, in combination with the exposure it’s getting in Congress.”
The industry says it wants to elect lawmakers who will ultimately help the government embrace and write tailored rules for crypto.
“I think what we are hoping is that more candidates can come in — if they are accepting of this technology — can prioritize creating clear rules of the road,” Carbone said. “We are one of the very few industries out there that are asking for regulation. We are asking for laws. We are not asking to be deregulated, we just want to exist and we want to make sure we have a regulatory framework that allows us to exist.”
A notable victory for the PAC came after contributing $10 million in spending against Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-CA) bid for Senate in California. The congresswoman eventually lost the nomination to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who is considered to be friendly to crypto. Fairshake was behind efforts to muddy the water against Porter, flying banners and driving vans around the state with accusations that she was taking corporate money for her campaign, which her campaign disputed. Like other spending in other races, the industry didn’t mention cryptocurrency, but Carbone believes that’s all by design.
“I think crypto is still a little intimidating for folks. And I think this industry is a lot more than crypt, but often gets conflated when we mention crypto,” Carbone said. “The crypto industry as a whole is not really looking for candidates to be necessarily super pro-crypto, but I think [what] we have found is that the candidates and incumbents that are willing to listen to us and work with us, some of them don’t even like crypto, but a lot of them understand it’s here to stay.”
It’s still unclear whether Fairshake will spend in the presidential election, but those involved in the industry believe they’ll be heavily involved in the general election cycle, pointing specifically to the Senate race in Ohio. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection this cycle, has been an outspoken crypto skeptic and has created a barrier to crypto legislation progress as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. On the other hand, Brown’s Republican challenger, Bernie Moreno, helped found a blockchain startup.
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“Fairshake is probably putting most eggs in that basket, trying to elect Bernie Moreno,” Carbone said. “Going after the Senate Banking Committee chair who’s been pretty opposed to this industry is pretty important.”
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), another vulnerable Democrat up this cycle, could be a target of the PAC. Tester told NBC News in 2022 that crypto did not “pass the smell test.” Although, lately he has made statements that may show his attitude is shifting, recently telling reporters that he’s considering several crypto bills being currently in the Senate. Tester was one of 11 Democrats to vote to overturn SEC guidance on crypto.
