The money and the targets
Single-issue crypto super PACs, the largest cluster of their kind in U.S. history, are pouring millions into congressional contests, seeking a repeat of 2024, a year in which super PACs shelled out $250 million to put pro-crypto lawmakers in office and to remake Congress. Public Citizen says crypto groups have already topped $200 million in this cycle, ahead of online betting and data center interests in federal corporate political spend.
Fairshake, the industry's lead vehicle, is backing 33 House contenders, with the roster comprising 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats viewed as in step with crypto priorities. The network is committing at least $1 million to six incumbents, including Wisconsin's Bryan Steil - a Republican who leads a House digital assets subcommittee - Arkansas Republican French Hill, who heads the House Financial Services Committee, and Michigan's Bill Huizenga, the committee's vice chair. On the Democratic side, Reps. Janelle Bynum of Oregon, Derek Tran of California, and Steven Horsford of Nevada are each getting seven-figure support.
The Ohio Senate race is a marquee fight. Fairshake spent about $40 million in 2024 to try to unseat Sherrod Brown and says it has already spent $55 million this cycle opposing him. On the November ballot, Sherrod Brown - the Democratic pick and a onetime U.S. senator - faces Republican Jon Husted, a pro-crypto candidate who currently holds the seat. A Marist poll from Oct. 15-18 showed Brown ahead by four points among likely voters, within the 4.5% margin of error.
Who's writing the checks
Crypto exchanges and advocacy groups are bankrolling much of the activity. According to OpenSecrets, Coinbase contributed $79 million to federal races in the 2024 cycle, including a $1 million personal donation from CEO Brian Armstrong to Fairshake in 2023. The super PAC says Coinbase added $25 million to its 2025 midterm efforts.
"The ultimate goal is to make sure that we bring our 20th century financial system into the 21st century," said Ryan VanGrack, a Coinbase vice chairman, in a CNBC interview. "In an era where affordability is top of mind for American voters, it's important that we find a way that we can move money more cheaply, that we can invest more easily, and that we can transact more quickly, and fundamentally that is not something that Democrats or Republicans should oppose."
Stand With Crypto, the Coinbase-launched advocacy group from 2023, has endorsed 45 candidates this cycle, with 42 in the House and three in the Senate. Executive director Mason Lynaugh said many contests will be "extremely tight," adding that the group considers legislative records and turns out "thousands or tens of thousands" of advocates to support pro-crypto candidates.
OpenSecrets reports that Ripple, a digital asset and infrastructure company, gave $63.65 million last election and is spending again now. Fairshake says Ripple donated $25 million in 2025. Asked about the industry's return on investment, Ripple's chief legal officer, Stu Alderoty, told CNBC, "I think compared to where the industry was two years ago to where the industry is today, yes, I would say that that is a very good return."
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He highlighted the GENIUS Act, which established the nation's initial federal regime for dollar-pegged stablecoins and marked the U.S.'s first standalone crypto statute when President Trump signed it in July 2025. Alderoty also pointed to more clarity from the SEC and CFTC and progress at the OCC, emphasizing that the OCC gave Ripple its final sign-off this week to establish Ripple National Trust Bank under federal trust bank supervision. Even so, he said agency guidance does not replace congressional action, and the window for new laws may be narrowing.
Legislation, voter mood, and the stakes
Industry-backed policy has hit resistance this Congress. In September, the bipartisan Clarity Act - a digital-asset market-structure proposal - stalled in the Senate, with Democrats contending it failed to sufficiently stop top government officials from profiting from crypto ventures. If it fails to advance before year-end, Congress would have to start over on a new market-structure bill.
Public attitudes are a headwind. Gallup reported in September that 89% of U.S. adults see government corruption as widespread, a record high. According to this month's CNBC All-America Economic Survey, only 20% characterized the economy as excellent or good, slipping from 27% in July.
That backdrop is shaping campaign messages. "Overwhelmingly, the issue right now is the affordability crisis," said Rep. Steven Horsford, one of the Democrats receiving more than $1 million from Fairshake. In May, he introduced a bipartisan proposal updating federal tax rules for digital assets. Horsford added that crypto still comes up with voters, especially small businesses as customers increasingly ask whether they accept bitcoin and other digital asset payments. On timing, he said, "Every stakeholder needs to stay at the table and to continue to make the case why legislation is needed."
Next year's legislative appetite is also in question. Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor and an OKX board member, told CNBC, "You're going to have a Democratic Congress overseeing an administration, the Trump administration, where the regulators are making decisions under the scrutiny of a hostile Congress, and that is not a good place to be because the Congress will be at loggerheads with the administration."
What this means for your portfolio
Crypto PACs are trying to shape who writes the next rules by helping decide who gets to write them at all.
Regardless of who leads Congress, VanGrack, a former SEC senior advisor, expects progress on clearer rules to continue. "Regardless of who is elected in Congress, we're going to continue to see more regulatory clarity in this space," he told CNBC. "It may be an open question whether we get all the way across the goal line, but it's not an open question about whether we're going to have progress and continue to see progress in terms of regulatory clarity in crypto."
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