Crypto industry tops $200 million in 2026 midterm spending to shape Congress

Cryptocurrency groups have put more than $200 million into this year's election, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen, as reported by CNBC on Saturday ¹. That is more than online betting and data center groups gave in federal corporate political spending this cycle ¹. The election is Tuesday.

A super PAC is a political group that can raise and spend unlimited sums to back or attack candidates. The leading crypto one, Fairshake, and its affiliated groups are backing 33 House candidates: 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats ¹. The industry is trying to repeat 2024, when super PACs spent $250 million to elect pro-crypto lawmakers ¹.

Who is getting the money

Fairshake is putting a baseline of $1 million into six House incumbents ¹. The Republicans are Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, French Hill of Arkansas and Bill Huizenga of Michigan ¹. Hill chairs the House Financial Services Committee and Huizenga is its vice chair ¹.

The Democrats are Reps. Janelle Bynum of Oregon, Derek Tran of California and Steven Horsford of Nevada ¹. Coinbase, a crypto exchange, gave $25 million to Fairshake's midterm effort in 2025, according to the super PAC ¹.

From Channel GOPHusted's nine votes against lower health premiumsSherrod Brown · 126 plays · captioned, with the source named

Public Citizen's earlier count was about $189 million in late June. It put crypto at roughly 37% of all tracked corporate contributions this cycle ².

The Ohio Senate race

The industry is focused on Ohio, where Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former senator and longtime crypto critic, faces Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is pro-crypto ¹. Fairshake told CNBC it has already spent $55 million against Brown. It spent about $40 million against him in 2024 ¹.

A Marist poll taken Oct. 15-18 showed Brown ahead by four points among likely voters. That is within the poll's 4.5-point margin of error, so the race is effectively a toss-up ¹.

Overwhelmingly, the issue right now is the affordability crisis

What the industry says, and what Congress did

Ripple, a digital-asset company, gave $25 million in 2025, according to Fairshake ¹. Its chief legal officer was asked whether the industry got a good return. Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July 2025, the first federal framework for dollar-pegged digital coins called stablecoins ¹.

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.

A bigger bill has stalled. In September, the Clarity Act, which would set bipartisan market rules for digital assets, stalled in the Senate. Democrats argued it did not do enough to stop top government officials from profiting off crypto ventures ¹.

If it does not move by the end of the year, Congress must start over on a new bill ¹. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, now on the board of the crypto exchange OKX, said lawmaking is unlikely if Congress changes hands in January ¹.

Why it matters

That matters because the donors are betting that money can decide who writes the next set of rules. A Gallup poll in September found a record 89% of U.S. adults say government corruption is widespread ¹.

Crypto is also not voters' main concern. Only 20% of respondents in the latest CNBC survey rate the economy as excellent or good, down from 27% in July ¹.

The Record

1. Jul 1, 2025Trump signed the GENIUS Act, the first federal framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins (the CNBC report says July 2025) ¹.
2. Jun 30, 2026Public Citizen reported about $189 million in crypto contributions this cycle, roughly 37% of corporate contributions ².
3. Sep 1, 2026The Clarity Act stalled in the Senate in September after Democrats raised ethics concerns ¹.
4. Oct 31, 2026CNBC reported crypto-tied groups have given more than $200 million this cycle ¹.

Sources

1. CNBC, “Crypto industry pours more than $200 million into 2026 midterms to pressure Congress on favorable rules” (2026-10-31). cnbc.com/2026/10/31/crypto-industry-spends-more-than-200-mil
2. Cointelegraph, “Crypto companies spent 2026 US election cycle, Public Citizen says” (2026-06-30). cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-companies-spent-2026-us-electi

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