A group of political committees aligned with the US cryptocurrency industry has reported $2.7 million in advertising and direct-mail spending aimed at influencing 2026 House of Representatives races, according to Cointelegraph.
The spending was disclosed less than a month before the US midterm elections, with 22 days remaining when the original report was published. The campaigns are part of a broader effort by Fairshake and its affiliated committees to support candidates viewed as favorable to digital-asset policy, across both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Fairshake affiliates disclose advertising spending
Federal Election Commission filings reported on Saturday showed that two Fairshake-affiliated political action committees, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, had together spent about $2.7 million on media and direct-mail production. The spending supported candidates seeking seats in the US House in 2026.
The disclosed amounts varied significantly by candidate. More than $76,000 was reported for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, while House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson was linked to more than $73,000 in spending. The filings also included approximately $512,000 for California Representative Pete Aguilar and $500,000 for New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer.
Fairshake is a political action committee funded largely by contributions from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and blockchain company Ripple Labs. An update to the original reporting clarified that Andreessen Horowitz is one of Fairshake’s contributors, rather than Cantor Fitzgerald.
The latest filings came shortly after Fairshake said it planned to endorse another 32 House candidates in 2026. Six of those candidates were each set to receive $1 million in supportive media spending. None of those six was included in the $2.7 million disclosed by Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, although Emmer, Aguilar, Gottheimer and Thompson were among the incumbents on Fairshake’s wider endorsement list.
A wider push to shape crypto policy
Fairshake’s campaign strategy extends beyond House contests. A spokesperson said in August that the PAC had $122 million in cash on hand for its midterm strategy, which focuses on helping elect more lawmakers considered supportive of cryptocurrency and digital-asset legislation.
The group has also targeted Ohio’s Senate race. At least $30 million has been allocated for media buys opposing the election of former banking committee chair Sherrod Brown. During his time in office, Brown was described as one of the leading Democratic opponents of several bills viewed as favorable to the cryptocurrency industry.
Political action committees are organizations that raise and spend money to influence elections. In this case, the affiliated committees are using advertising and direct mail to communicate with voters about candidates and their positions on digital-asset policy. The spending does not itself guarantee that a candidate will win, but it demonstrates the financial scale of the industry’s effort to make cryptocurrency regulation an election issue.
The CLARITY Act and the midterm debate
A central policy issue is the Digital Asset Market Clarity, or CLARITY, Act. The legislation was intended to establish market-structure rules for the cryptocurrency industry and give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal commodities regulator, greater authority to oversee and enforce regulations.
All of the candidates identified in the Fairshake spending had voted for the CLARITY Act in 2025. The bill passed the House with support from both parties but failed to clear a procedural vote in the Senate in September.
The failed Senate vote has added to pressure from crypto-focused advocacy groups. Stand With Crypto, an initiative launched by Coinbase, evaluates lawmakers and political candidates using their public statements and voting records on industry issues. Following the Senate setback, the group warned that candidates who did not advance cryptocurrency legislation could face consequences in the midterm elections.
Stand With Crypto is seeking to mobilize voters who support cryptocurrency-related policies, continuing an approach it also used during the 2024 elections. The Fairshake spending shows that the industry’s political campaign is operating on multiple fronts: supporting selected House candidates, opposing at least one Senate candidate and pressing lawmakers over stalled regulation.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 09:49 on October 13, 2026, showed mixed performance among the four tracked digital assets:
- JUST (JST): $0.1388016871, up 1.02% over 24 hours and 0.51% over seven days.
- Lighter (LIT): $3.3615580548, down 11.10% over 24 hours and 14.21% over seven days.
- Notcoin (NOT): $0.0004478948, down 4.56% over 24 hours and 9.23% over seven days.
- Propy (PRO): $0.3560995973, down 0.59% over 24 hours and 4.28% over seven days.
These market figures provide a snapshot of the selected assets at that time and are separate from the political spending disclosed by the Fairshake affiliates.
