WASHINGTON / CryptoWire.AI / – Crypto super PACs are spending heavily ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, hoping to shape which lawmakers write the next round of digital asset rules. Crypto-tied organizations have contributed more than $200 million this election cycle, according to Public Citizen. The industry’s top goal is a market structure bill after the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate in September. Two years ago, crypto super PACs spent about $250 million to elect pro-crypto candidates.
Fairshake, the industry’s largest political network, is backing 33 House candidates from both parties: 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats. It is giving at least $1 million each to six incumbents, including House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill and Vice Chair Bill Huizenga. Coinbase, which gave $79 million to federal races in 2024 according to OpenSecrets, donated $25 million to Fairshake in 2025. Ripple gave the super PAC another $25 million, according to Fairshake.
Democrats stalled the Clarity Act over concerns that it did not do enough to stop top government officials from profiting from crypto ventures. The ethics fight comes as public trust sinks, with a record 89% of U.S. adults telling Gallup that government corruption is widespread. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, now an OKX board member, told CNBC that lawmaking is unlikely if Congress changes hands in January and clashes with the Trump administration.
Brown and Husted in tight Ohio race
November’s elections will test crypto’s influence in Washington, and Ohio is the main battleground. Fairshake told CNBC it has already spent $55 million opposing Democrat Sherrod Brown, a longtime crypto critic and former Senate Banking Committee chairman. Brown faces Republican Jon Husted, who is pro-crypto and holds the seat. Fairshake spent about $40 million to defeat Brown in 2024. A Marist poll taken October 15 to 18 put Brown four points ahead.
Mason Lynaugh, executive director of Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto, said many races will be extremely tight. The group has endorsed 45 candidates this cycle, 42 for the House and three for the Senate. Lynaugh said endorsements reward legislative records and show that thousands of crypto advocates can turn out in a district. Voting has been under way for weeks, with mail-in voting starting in North Carolina in September.
Industry counts its gains
Ripple chief legal officer Stu Alderoty told CNBC the industry has seen a very good return compared with two years ago. Alderoty pointed to the GENIUS Act, the first standalone U.S. crypto law, which set federal rules for dollar-pegged stablecoins in July 2025, the same month Bitcoin hit a record above $118,000. Alderoty also cited clearer guidance from the SEC and the CFTC, and Ripple’s final approval to charter Ripple National Trust Bank.
Agency guidance cannot replace laws from Congress, and the window may be closing. If the Clarity Act does not advance by year-end, lawmakers will have to start over on a new market structure bill. Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford said every stakeholder needs to stay at the table. Coinbase’s Ryan VanGrack, a former SEC senior advisor, said regulatory progress will continue regardless of who wins, even if full legislation remains uncertain.