Crypto super PAC wins House and Senate races | Wilnesh News

WASHINGTON — Super PACs funded by top crypto companies notched several victories in congressional primaries on Tuesday night, the latest in a series of victories for the newest big names in U.S. election financing.

Fairshake PAC, which supports candidates across the political spectrum who align with the cryptocurrency industry, will invest more than $100 million during the general election campaign season and plans to spend more than $100 million to elect pro-cryptocurrency Houses and Senators.

On Tuesday night, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost his primary Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Bowman’s defeat was partly due to his outspoken criticism of Israel. However, cryptocurrency’s Fairshake PAC also joined the fray and spent $2 million to air ads criticizing Bowman.

Fairshake and her two PACS affiliates, one Republican and one Democratic, quietly racked up six other victories on Tuesday for candidates they backed, though none of the races were competitive. That includes Rep. John Curtis, who won the Republican nomination for Utah’s open Senate seat.

Fairshake PAC, founded last year by a dozen cryptocurrency companies, has become one of the highest-spending political action committees of the 2024 election cycle.

Fairshake and its two affiliated PACs have spent more than $37 million on primary ads so far, according to AdImpact.

Although Fairshake has a broad mission to safeguard the entire $2.2 trillion cryptocurrency market, its funding comes from a very small number of donors.

Fairshake has raised $160 million in total donations since its inception, with approximately $155 million, or 94%, coming from four companies: Ripple, Andreesen Horowitz, Coinbase, and Jump Crypto.

But the cryptocurrency industry plans to deploy more than just capital this fall. Non-profit organizations Stand with cryptocurrencies Says it has collected the email addresses of more than 1.1 million cryptocurrency “advocates” in the hope of keeping them at the ballot box.

The power of cryptocurrency groups has drawn attention on Capitol Hill, especially among lawmakers facing tough elections next year, where a few thousand voters or a large donation can not only make a difference in a campaign but control everyone in a party have an impact on the issue.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said this is a “defining moment” for cryptocurrencies and that an “organized, cohesive effort around Fairshake” will have an impact.

“The industry has been lagging behind Washington and has really been on the defensive,” Garlinghouse told CNBC.

This effort also aims to showcase the mature crypto industry. Cryptocurrency groups are presenting themselves as more serious players following the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, who invested millions of dollars in the 2022 midterm elections.

Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer who previously worked at the White House and Goldman Sachs, said the industry has recognized the need to not only engage lawmakers but also coordinate with cryptocurrency and blockchain owners to expand their political influence.

“We came to an interesting realization that the only way we’re going to take the politics out of cryptocurrency is to create a level playing field for political operations.”

He also said the group is tapping into what he sees as a grassroots movement to get “Americans who own cryptocurrencies into the process.”

In the coming months, the group plans not to spend money on the presidential race but on the House and Senate — both of which are up for election next year.

Fairshake has not yet begun spending during the election cycle, but several officials in the industry say they are eyeing states like Ohio and Montana, where Democratic incumbents who are bearish on cryptocurrencies face challenges embracing the technology By.

In Ohio, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, an outspoken cryptocurrency skeptic, is fighting with Republican Bernie Moreno, who founded a blockchain startup. ) confrontation.

In Montana, Republican challenger Tim Sheehy called cryptocurrencies “the future of finance and the Internet.” Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Tester told “Meet the Press” In 2022, cryptocurrencies don’t “pass the smell test.” According to reports, he also Calling cryptocurrency a “bull****” According to Semafo.

But as Tester mounts one of his toughest re-election battles in the Senate, his attitude toward cryptocurrencies appears to be changing.

Tester told reporters that he is open to several encryption bills before the Senate.

“Already 21^Yingshi “I thought the fax machine was bullshit, too,” Tester told reporters at the Capitol on June 12.

This shift in mentality is also reflected in voting. Tester is one of 11 Democrats Vote to Overturn SEC Guidance on Cryptocurrencies As a result, it was criticized by the industry.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Jackie Rosen, D-Nev., who also face tough re-election battles, voted in favor of the bill.

In the House, Rep. Elisa Slotkin, D-Mich., who is running for an open Senate seat, voted in favor of overturning the SEC guidance and another bill Establishing a digital asset market structure.

However, it remains to be seen how much of a role cryptocurrencies will play in November’s election, and how many votes will ultimately be affected by a candidate’s stance on cryptocurrencies.

one annual survey A report released by the Federal Reserve in May showed that about 7% of Americans, or about 18 million adults, owned or used cryptocurrency in the past year. The figure is 5 percentage points lower than the same survey reported in 2021.

Issues like the economy, immigration, and abortion affect more people than cryptocurrencies. Indeed, the industry’s political ad makers appear to be aware that the cryptocurrency user base is relatively small.

Fairshake-funded ads often convey messages less about a candidate’s support or opposition to cryptocurrencies and more about broader issues that resonate with voters, such as fairness and integrity.

During the California primary, fair shock advertising Calling Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., a “fake” and trying to tie her to a corrupt company. Fairshake spent $9.7 million on the game.

Porter ultimately lost to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who was widely seen as more friendly to cryptocurrencies than Porter.