Crypto PAC Spending Exceeds $8M as Three States Prepare for Tuesday Primary Elections
Political action committees funded by the cryptocurrency industry have invested over $8 million in advertising across New York, Maryland, and Utah primaries, prompting Maryland Democratic candidates to demand rejection of "crypto billionaire outside spending."
Cryptocurrency industry-backed political action committees (PACs) have invested over $8 million to back various candidates competing in Tuesday's primary elections in three states across the United States, potentially influencing the composition of Congress beginning in 2027.
According to Monday's reports, Protect Progress PAC, which operates as a Fairshake affiliate supporting Democratic Party candidates, has allocated over $516,000 toward media spending for April McClain Delaney, who is competing in the 6th congressional district of Maryland. The majority of the committee's resources, however, have been directed toward two competitive races in New York and Maryland, with disclosed expenditures totaling more than $5.5 million and $1.4 million, respectively, supporting primary contenders in these states' 5th and 15th congressional districts—specifically, Adrian Boafo and Ritchie Torres.
Records filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) revealed that Protect Progress allocated approximately $24,000 toward advertising opposing Quincy Bareebe and $74,000 for media campaigns opposing Harry Dunn, both of whom are competing against Boafo in Maryland's 5th district. On June 15, Dunn and Bareebe, joined by Rushern Baker, another candidate in the identical primary contest, released a joint statement condemning what they characterized as the "influence of dark money and special interests" affecting the race:
"We are calling on Governor Moore, Senator Alsobrooks, and Congressman Hoyer to answer directly: Do you support nearly $8 million in outside spending from crypto billionaires and AIPAC in a Maryland Democratic primary? If not, they should say so publicly and call on Adrian Boafo to reject it."
Another Fairshake affiliate, Defend American Jobs, disclosed expenditures exceeding $400,000 supporting Blake Moore, a Republican candidate in Utah's 2nd congressional district primary. These investments follow what a representative from Fairshake described as the "biggest spend of the cycle" during the previous week's Alabama primary runoff, which resulted in Republican Barry Moore's victory after the PAC invested more than $12 million in advertising campaigns.
The Fellowship PAC, an additional committee that received $11 million in backing from Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage, has reported $300,000 in expenditures supporting Torres' campaign in New York.
Are Colorado and Arizona next?
Following Tuesday's primary elections in these three states, political observers anticipate that Fairshake and additional cryptocurrency-aligned PACs will redirect their focus toward Colorado and Arizona, states that have primaries scheduled for June 30 and July 21, respectively.
Through Monday, none of these PACs had reported substantial spending in congressional races within either of these two states. Nevertheless, during 2024, Fairshake and its affiliated organizations invested over $10 million in media campaigns supporting Ruben Gallego's Senate campaign in Arizona and allocated $2.1 million toward Democratic Representative Yadira Caraveo's race in Colorado's 8th district.