The cryptocurrency industry has deployed roughly $176 million across more than 100 midterm election races this cycle, according to a Reuters review of campaign spending. The outlay is the centerpiece of a strategy to assemble a bipartisan coalition in Congress capable of protecting the sector after President Donald Trump leaves office. Trump's current term runs through January 2029, and the Congress elected on November 3 will convene in January 2027 and serve through January 2029, spanning the final two years of that term.

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

Super PACs may raise and spend unlimited sums but cannot coordinate with campaigns. Under federal law they must periodically disclose their donors to the Federal Election Commission, though an individual advertisement need only carry a disclaimer naming the committee that paid for it. Fairshake's advertising runs through affiliates with names such as "Defend American Jobs" and "Protect Progress," and the spots often emphasize taxes and immigration rather than crypto, leaving voters with little way of knowing who pays for them.

The watchdog group Public Citizen said crypto was the largest corporate spender in federal races in 2026, and crypto firms led corporate political spending at that point, citing the same analysis. Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz are the primary financiers. Industry strategists and campaign staff described the money 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 posture marks a sharp change. In 2018, lawmakers could not secure a room in 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. 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, 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. Because unfinished bills do not carry over from one Congress to the next, the measure would have to be reintroduced when the new session convenes in January.

Fairshake helped defeat Sherrod Brown, who chaired the Senate Banking Committee — the panel with jurisdiction over securities law and oversight of the SEC — 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 are 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, while only 13% said the same when the question named blockchain, crypto or DeFi. The DeFi Education Fund is a digital asset advocacy group, and 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.