Fairshake’s $193 Million Arsenal Targets Crypto Bill Vote and Midterm Power Plays

As the Senate Agriculture Committee prepares for a pivotal vote on Thursday, the crypto industry’s leading political action committee, Fairshake, has revealed a staggering $193 million war chest, amassed by the end of 2025 and shared ahead of the January 31 Federal Election Commission reporting deadline. This sum, encompassing funds for Fairshake and its affiliates—Democrat-leaning Protect Progress and Republican-focused Defend American Jobs—positions the group to wield unprecedented influence over the 2026 congressional midterms amid negotiations on comprehensive digital asset regulations.

The escalation comes from major infusions in the second half of 2025: $25 million from blockchain firm Ripple and $24 million from venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z, building on Coinbase’s earlier $25 million contribution that had previously boosted the PAC to $141 million on hand, as CNBC

reported. “With the midterms approaching, we are united behind our mission with Fairshake continuing to oppose anti-crypto politicians and support pro-crypto leaders,” spokesperson Josh Vlasto told CNBC.

This financial firepower nearly matches the contributions Fairshake raised during the entire 2024 cycle, where it spent about $195 million to back pro-crypto candidates, per FEC data, yielding successes like the defeat of former Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who had blocked crypto bills, according to CoinDesk.

Building a Pro-Crypto Congress

Fairshake’s 2024 efforts helped elect over 50 lawmakers favorable to the industry, contributing to last year’s passage of stablecoin rules-of-the-road legislation. The PAC maintained a bipartisan approach, supporting candidates across parties, and continued spending in special elections to expand its roster, as detailed in CoinDesk’s coverage of the group’s trajectory from sixth-largest PAC fundraiser in the prior cycle.

Now, with the Senate negotiating a broader bill to regulate all digital assets—splitting oversight between the Agriculture and Banking Committees—the stakes are high. The Agriculture panel’s Thursday markup advances one portion, while Banking delayed its vote amid disputes, per CNBC. Ripple and a16z’s recent $49 million combined push underscores the urgency, as CoinDesk noted in reporting on White House meetings with crypto and banking executives over market structure.

The bill echoes prior efforts like the House-passed Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, which divided oversight between securities and commodities regulators, as Axios covered. Fairshake’s cash signals readiness to reward supporters and punish opponents in upcoming races.

Donor Heavyweights Fuel the Surge

Coinbase, facing SEC lawsuits over unregistered securities, has poured over $75 million into Fairshake across cycles, with a $25 million pledge for 2026 midterms bringing its total near $100 million, according to CNBC. a16z, committing $70 million overall including a $23 million slice for 2026, emphasized in a blog by partner Chris Dixon the need for consumer-protecting frameworks, as CNBC highlighted.

Ripple, battling its own SEC case, matched with $50 million split across 2024-2025, per reports from Holder.io. Other backers like Jump Crypto, Uniswap Labs, and Superstate’s Robert Leshner added to January 2025’s $11 million haul, pushing totals from $116 million earlier that year.

Earlier milestones included $78 million post-2024 with a16z’s $23 million and Coinbase commitments, as Axios reported, and $141 million by mid-2025 after $52 million in H1 including Coinbase’s boost, covered by Politico.

Legislative Hurdles and Political Leverage

Progress on stablecoins followed 2024 wins, but broader market structure faces resistance. Senate Democrats raised ethics flags over Trump family crypto ventures like a stablecoin issuer, stalling votes, as Politico detailed in May 2025 coverage of a tanked bill led by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.).

The CLARITY Act, prioritized by donors, seeks to legitimize digital assets by clarifying regulator lanes, with House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) pushing for bipartisan votes to hit the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold, per Politico. Fairshake’s strategy targets vote breakdowns on such bills for 2026 spending decisions.

“The voters last year were clear – Congress needs to stop playing politics with crypto and finally pass responsible regulation,” Vlasto said in a July 2025 statement to The Block, amid ‘Crypto Week’ debates.

Bipartisan Wins and Future Battles

Fairshake’s 91% general election success rate in 2024, per Axios, included $40 million against Brown and boosts for allies like Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Special election victories in Florida for Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis advanced GOP majorities now deemed crypto-friendly with over 270 lawmakers, as AInvest noted.

Critics like Public Citizen’s Bartlett Naylor decried the spending as “venality onto perversion onto corruption,” while crypto advocates point to mobilized voters registering over 100,000 in swing states via Stand with Crypto, per Fox Business.

As the Agriculture Committee vote looms, Fairshake’s $193 million—rivaling entire prior cycles—amplifies industry pressure for clarity, jobs, and innovation, with Vlasto affirming an “aggressive, targeted strategy” for pro-crypto dominance in 2026.