Cryptocurrency-Backed PACs See Primary Election Success Across Multiple States
Approximately eleven candidates spanning three states in the US secured primary victories or qualified for the November general election following support from $3.5 million worth of advertisements financed by political action committees aligned with the cryptocurrency sector.
[Update (June 3 at 8:01 pm UTC): Additional information from Fairshake has been incorporated into the fourth paragraph of this article.]
Candidates representing both the Democratic and Republican parties throughout California, New Jersey and South Dakota emerged victorious in their Tuesday primary elections following extensive advertising support from political action committees with backing from the cryptocurrency industry.
Results from Tuesday's primaries showed California Democrats Jacqui Irwin, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Dave Min, Mike McGuire, Hilda Solis, George Whitesides, Lou Correa and Lateefah Simon all securing victories in their races for House seats. Additionally, Democrat Rob Menendez claimed victory in New Jersey's 8th congressional district primary, while Republican Mike Rounds won his primary contest for a South Dakota Senate seat.
These electoral victories followed approximately $3.5 million in combined media expenditures from the Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs PACs to bolster the campaigns of these candidates. Both groups maintain affiliation with Fairshake, a political action committee receiving substantial funding from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Ripple Labs, which disclosed possessing a campaign fund of $193 million in January.
America needs members of Congress who will act to lay out responsible guardrails for the community to maintain our global leadership
Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter
These PAC investments followed comparable media purchasing strategies during last week's Texas runoff primary elections, which saw Democrat Christian Menefee triumph over sitting US Representative Al Green, while four Republican contenders secured primary victories in smaller House districts. A significant number of candidates in these state-level competitions have demonstrated support for advancing digital asset initiatives, either by casting votes on legislation favorable to cryptocurrency such as the GENIUS Act while serving in office or through their public policy positions.
The state of Maryland appears poised to become the next battleground for Fairshake and its associated organizations. Documentation filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) revealed that Protect Progress had invested over $3.1 million as of Wednesday in support of Democratic contender Adrian Boafo competing in Maryland's 5th Congressional district, where the primary election is set for June 23.
Crypto advocacy organizations back new developer-focused PAC
Industry executives unveiled the creation of Defend Developers on Wednesday, a hybrid PAC designed to back "incumbent members of Congress who actively champion developer protections and crypto builders." The organization stated that Defend Developers' board of directors features "CEOs, CLOs, and policy leaders at top crypto organizations, including DeFi Education Fund, Orca Creative, Solana Policy Institute, and Uniswap Labs."
For too long, developers building decentralized technologies have faced regulatory uncertainty and enforcement actions instead of clear rules and guidelines. While legislation and rulemakings are being written as we speak, for some policymakers there is limited incentive to understand the fundamental nature of software development.
Gavin Zavatone, Defend Developers founder
As of Wednesday, the FEC portal displayed no financial contribution or spending activity. The PAC's statement of organization filed on May 15 identified Nick Stoltzfus, co-CEO of Stratofied, an on-chain digital asset platform focused on student loans, as the treasurer and custodian of records.
Beyond stating plans to target "key races across the country," the PAC provided no additional details regarding where or how it plans to concentrate its efforts during the 2026 US midterm elections. Cointelegraph attempted to contact Defend Developers for additional commentary but had not received a response at the time of publication.