The crypto industry has spent roughly $176 million across more than 100 midterm races this election cycle, according to a Reuters review of campaign spending. The outlay is part of a deliberate plan to build a bipartisan coalition in Congress that can protect the sector after President Donald Trump leaves office.

Fairshake, the industry's largest super PAC, is leading the effort. The group spent $196 million in the 2024 cycle and is directing strategy again this year. Through October 20, Fairshake and its affiliate PACs had spent about $150.8 million in 2026, while other crypto groups spent around $25 million. Fairshake said 53 of the 58 candidates it backed in primaries or special elections won their contests, and those candidates will appear on the November 3 ballot, per Reuters.

Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums but cannot coordinate with campaigns. Fairshake's advertising runs through affiliates with names such as "Defend American Jobs" and "Protect Progress," and the spots often focus on taxes and immigration rather than crypto, leaving voters with little way of knowing who is paying for them.

Crypto Leads Corporate Political Spending

The watchdog group Public Citizen found that crypto was the largest corporate spender in federal races in 2026, with crypto firms leading corporate political spending at that point. Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz are the primary financiers. Industry strategists and campaign staff said the money serves as a calling card meant to build relationships with elected officials.

Crypto's Long Game in Congress

Colin McLaren, head of government relations at the Solana Policy Institute, which has given $4.9 million to the midterms, called the spending "an investment in the future," per Reuters.

The approach reflects a sharp change from recent years. In 2018, lawmakers could not secure a room in the House or Senate office buildings for the first bipartisan crypto roundtable, so they met at the Library of Congress. Later, under the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission levied more than $6 billion in penalties across 98 cases, according to a Georgetown University Law study. Executives concluded they needed political force of their own.

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad helped launch Stand With Crypto and Fairshake in 2023. The number of lawmakers rated "A" by Stand With Crypto has since risen to 332, up from 96 when the group launched.

Legislation followed. The GENIUS Act, enacted in 2025 with broad bipartisan support, created the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. The industry's next goal, the Clarity Act, would place oversight under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but the bill stalled this session after Senate Democrats blocked it from reaching a final vote over an ethics provision that would have forced the Trump family to sell its crypto holdings.

Fairshake helped defeat Sherrod Brown, who chaired the Senate Banking Committee, in 2024, and the industry has since spent more than $68 million on his rematch against Republican Jon Husted, according to AdImpact. Fairshake's ads against Brown do not mention crypto, and Brown's campaign manager, Patrick Eisenhauer, said "the special interests are panicking." In Illinois, Fairshake spent over $10.1 million attacking Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and $2.5 million against state Representative La Shawn Ford, per Reuters, yet both are expected to win on November 3.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each gave about $13 million this cycle, most of it to MAGA Inc.

What Voters Think

Public attitudes remain mixed. A September survey of 1,545 U.S. adults, conducted by Ipsos for the DeFi Education Fund and seen by Bitcoin Magazine, found that 22% have owned or used crypto, up from 18% in 2025. Only 19% believe the U.S. financial system is secure. The survey also found that 35% say it is important for candidates to support building the next generation of financial technology in the United States, though only 13% said the same when the question named blockchain, crypto, or DeFi. The DeFi Education Fund is a digital asset advocacy group, so its framing reflects that perspective.

Stand With Crypto's leadership has argued that the crypto vote will decide the midterms.

This article first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Micah Zimmerman.