Crypto Industry Spends $176 Million on Midterms as Voters Rank It Low
Crypto groups have spent about $176 million across more than 100 midterm races, led by super PAC Fairshake, according to a Reuters review. A September Ipsos survey for the DeFi Education Fund found only 13% of adults call crypto-specific candidate support very important, a gap that sources frame differently.
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Spending Totals and Who Is Paying
Crypto groups have spent about $176 million across more than 100 midterm races this cycle, according to a Reuters review of campaign spending cited by both Bitcoin Magazine and Decrypt. Fairshake, the industry's largest super PAC, accounts for the bulk of it, with Fairshake and its affiliates spending about $150.8 million through October 20 and other crypto groups around $25 million. Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz are named as the primary financiers. Fairshake said 53 of the 58 candidates it backed in primaries or special elections won.
The ads themselves often do not mention crypto. Fairshake's spending runs through affiliates such as Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, and the ads frequently focus on taxes and immigration. Super PACs can spend without limit but cannot coordinate with campaigns, and voters have little way of knowing who is behind a given message. The watchdog Public Citizen said crypto was the largest corporate spender in federal races in 2026.
Voter Attitudes Versus Political Spending
A September survey of 1,545 U.S. adults by Ipsos for the DeFi Education Fund found that only 13% say it is extremely or very important that a candidate supports the growth of emerging financial technologies. A broader formulation performed better: 35% said it is very important that candidates ensure next-generation financial technology builders are encouraged to work in the U.S. The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, and the poll was conducted September 8 to 16.
The two outlets emphasize different readings of the same numbers. Bitcoin Magazine reports that 22% of respondents have owned or used crypto, up from 18% in 2025, and that only 19% believe the U.S. financial system is secure. Decrypt highlights that the crypto-specific question shows little partisan gap, with 15% of Republicans and 13% of Democrats rating it very important, while the broader innovation item drew 45% of Republicans and 30% of Democrats. Decrypt also reports that 63% say the financial system needs an upgrade to address threats such as AI and cybercrime, and 49% say government should not decide which products they can invest in. Neither outlet's figures conflict; they simply select different results from the same poll.
Legislative Backdrop
The spending is tied to a legislative agenda. The GENIUS Act, enacted in 2025 with broad bipartisan support, created the first federal framework for stablecoins. The industry's next target, the Clarity Act, would place oversight of crypto markets under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Reporting differs on why it stalled. Bitcoin Magazine says Senate Democrats blocked it from a final vote over an ethics provision that would have required the Trump family to sell its crypto holdings. Decrypt describes it as failing a key Senate vote in September amid disputes over ethics provisions covering President Trump's crypto interests. Decrypt reports the industry has since turned to the SEC and CFTC to write rules directly.
Races to Watch
The clearest test is Ohio, where Fairshake helped defeat Sherrod Brown in 2024 and the industry has since spent more than $68 million on his rematch against Republican Jon Husted, according to AdImpact. Decrypt puts one Fairshake affiliate's disclosed spending against Brown above $46 million, a figure that reflects a narrower set of filings than AdImpact's total. Brown's campaign manager, Patrick Eisenhauer, said "the special interests are panicking." In Illinois, Fairshake spent over $10.1 million against Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and $2.5 million against state Representative La Shawn Ford, according to Reuters, though both are expected to win on November 3.
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