What is Fairshake PAC?

Fairshake PAC is a super PAC, a political committee that can raise and spend unlimited sums on elections as long as it does not coordinate with candidates. It was set up by the crypto industry to support candidates it views as friendly to crypto and to oppose those it views as hostile. It does not give money directly to campaigns. Instead it buys ads and other independent spending in chosen races.

Who funds Fairshake PAC?

FactCheck.org reported in April 2024 that Fairshake registered with the FEC in 2023 and that its largest backers were Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), along with founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. A January 2025 CNBC report also named Jump Crypto and Uniswap Labs among donors, and said Coinbase had given more than $75 million to Fairshake and its affiliates in 2024.

By January 2026, Axios reported, the group held more than $193 million in cash for the midterms, after spending about $135 million in the 2024 cycle. A Fairshake spokesperson described its aim as opposing anti-crypto politicians and backing pro-crypto ones.

Is Fairshake PAC Republican or Democrat?

Fairshake itself is not tied to a party. It runs alongside two affiliates. FactCheck.org described Defend American Jobs as backing Republican candidates and Protect Progress as backing Democratic candidates, with both seeded by transfers from Fairshake. In 2024, Fairshake spent over $10 million against Democrat Katie Porter in California's Senate primary while also running ads for House members from both parties.

In practice the money has not split evenly. Fortune reported that in the 2026 midterms the three groups spent about $75 million supporting Republicans, about $30 million supporting Democrats and about $36 million opposing Democrats, including in primaries.

What did Fairshake PAC spend in the 2026 midterms?

Totals vary by tracker. Cointelegraph reported that Fairshake and its affiliates spent $154.5 million across 89 races and had more than $67 million left for 2028. Fortune, citing Tech Influence Watch, put the figure at more than $170 million.

Results were mixed. Candidates it backed won Senate seats in Kentucky, Alabama and Nebraska, where Defend American Jobs spent heavily against independent Dan Osborn. But Democrat Sherrod Brown won in Ohio despite tens of millions spent against him, and Democrat Juliana Stratton won in Illinois after the network spent about $10 million opposing her in the primary. Democrats won control of both chambers, according to Cointelegraph.

Why does Fairshake PAC matter for crypto rules?

The industry's main goal is federal law that sets out how crypto is regulated. Congress passed the stablecoin law described in what is the GENIUS Act, but the market structure bill covered in what is the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate in September 2026. For how oversight works today, see who regulates crypto in the US.

As of November 2026, the group says it is already looking ahead to the 2028 elections.