Political action committees backed by cryptocurrency supporters have stepped up their financial involvement in U.S. primary elections, with millions of dollars flowing into key races as the industry seeks to influence digital asset policy in Congress. Recent filings with the Federal Election Commission reveal that groups linked to the Fairshake PAC, which receives support from Coinbase, Ripple, and other crypto advocates, have directed substantial funds toward both House and Senate contests across multiple states, including California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota.
One affiliate, Protect Progress, has spent roughly $3 million to back Democratic candidates in House races in California and New Jersey. Another Fairshake affiliate, Defend American Jobs, contributed over $411,000 to support Republican Senator Mike Rounds in South Dakota. The industry’s focus is also intensifying on Maryland’s upcoming June 23 primaries, where Protect Progress has allocated more than $3.1 million for media campaigns supporting Adrian Boafo, a Democratic contender in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District. In New York, approximately $320,000 has been spent to support Representative Ritchie Torres, a vocal Democrat on digital asset issues, ahead of his primary on the same date.
These latest expenditures build on earlier successes in Texas, where Fairshake and its allies backed candidates who won primary contests the previous week. The Texas results demonstrated the potential impact of campaign spending on races where cryptocurrency regulation has become a divisive topic. Fairshake reported having more than $193 million in available funds as of January, according to campaign finance records. Other crypto-aligned groups, such as Fellowship, which received $11 million from Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, and the Blockchain Leadership Fund, funded with $175,000 from Chainlink and Anchorage, have also entered the fray.
Fairshake has indicated it plans to oppose lawmakers it views as unfriendly to crypto policy. Representative Al Green became a primary target after voting against the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin bill, and the CLARITY Act, a digital asset market structure bill. Protect Progress spent $5 million to support Christian Menefee, Green’s Democratic primary opponent in Texas’s 18th Congressional District, and Green ultimately lost that primary.
Maryland now represents a major test for crypto PACs before the end of June. Protect Progress’s spending for Boafo makes it one of the most expensive primary efforts by the industry this cycle, based on FEC figures. The spending also highlights how crypto groups operate across party lines: Protect Progress backs Democrats, while Defend American Jobs supports Republicans. This campaign activity coincides with Congress considering significant digital asset legislation, including the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which was added to the Senate calendar after approval by the Senate Agriculture Committee in January and the Senate Banking Committee in May.