Crypto PAC Fairshake to Spend $40M More in Final Election Weeks
Crypto PAC Fairshake plans to invest $40M more in the final weeks of the 2024 elections, supporting bipartisan candidates who favor cryptocurrency.
The Fairshake PAC, a crypto-focused political action committee, is planning to invest an additional $40 million in the final weeks of the 2024 US elections. This comes after already spending $140 million on Congressional races across the country. The PAC is funded by major industry players like Coinbase and Ripple Labs.
The Fairshake PAC is positioning itself as a bipartisan force, aiming to support candidates from both political parties who are favorable toward cryptocurrency. According to a Bloomberg report, the PAC has recently targeted several anti-crypto candidates and managed to sway public opinion. For instance, one of its targets, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, has seen his six-point lead diminish as Fairshake-backed ads supported Republican Bernie Moreno.
Although Fairshake backs candidates supportive of crypto, its ads rarely mention cryptocurrency directly. Instead, the ads focus on individual candidates’ backgrounds and their positions on broader political issues. An example is a recent ad campaign for Bernie Moreno, which emphasized his family values and stance on energy, aligning him with Donald Trump.
Earlier this year, Fairshake spent $10 million on ads attacking Katie Porter, a Senate candidate from California who has opposed pro-crypto legislation. Porter lost to Adam Schiff, a result seen as a victory by the crypto industry. The attack campaign was part of a broader strategy to demonstrate Silicon Valley’s political influence and deter opposition.
Fairshake has also played a role in the primary defeats of anti-crypto candidates like New York Representative Jamaal Bowman and Missouri Representative Cori Bush, spending millions against both. These candidates had opposed legislation that would limit the SEC’s oversight of the crypto industry.
On the Democratic side, Fairshake’s affiliate Protect Progress has been heavily investing in pro-crypto candidates. For example, it has spent over $10 million supporting Elissa Slotkin’s Senate run in Michigan and another $10 million backing Ruben Gallego in Arizona, who is running against Kari Lake. A recent Federal Election Commission filing shows that Fairshake received an $800,000 contribution from blockchain software firm ConsenSys in September, signaling that the PAC still has substantial financial resources as the election draws near.
