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Election night delivered a sweeping win for Democrats—and an enormous loss for the crypto industry. The sector’s political action committees, which amassed hundreds of millions of dollars to back pro-crypto candidates nationwide, saw several high-profile picks lose, upending what had seemed like a reliable formula for turning money into political power.
Crypto PACs including Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress spent more than $170 million of their roughly $260 million war chest on the midterms, according to Tech Influence Watch, an independent public-interest tracker curated by software engineer and tech writer Molly White.
Across Fairshake and its two affiliates, spending to support Republicans totaled roughly $75 million, compared with about $30 million to support Democrats. The network also spent roughly $36 million opposing Democratic candidates, including in party primaries.
The bulk of the PACs’ money went to competitive races where their preferred candidates faced uphill battles—and ultimately lost. In Ohio, crypto PACs spent more than $40 million to support incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted and another $24 million to oppose his Democratic challenger and longtime crypto critic, Sherrod Brown. Brown’s victory marked a bitter reversal for the PACs, which in 2024 spent heavily to help Republican Bernie Moreno defeat him.
In Wisconsin, crypto groups spent nearly $2 million to support Republican incumbent Bryan Steil, chair of the House Financial Services digital assets subcommittee, and oppose Democrat Mitchell Berman, according to Tech Influence Watch. Berman unseated him anyway. In Texas, the industry spent $1.4 million to back Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton and oppose Democrat James Talarico, who won the race. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers despite roughly $810,000 in crypto spending backing Rogers. And in Iowa, Democrat Josh Turek beat Republican Ashley Hinson despite $700,000 in support from the Winklevosses’ pro-crypto Digital Freedom Fund.
Illinois also delivered a reminder of an earlier failed bet. Democrat Juliana Stratton won her Senate seat Tuesday after surviving roughly $10 million in crypto PAC spending aimed at defeating her in the March primary.
Tuesday’s midterm results took a bite out of crypto PACs’ winning record from 2024, when their spending helped elect congressional allies from both parties and defeat prominent industry critics. The industry was already nursing a setback in Washington after the Senate blocked the Clarity Act in September, leaving its push for a regulatory framework for digital assets unfinished.
But not all of crypto PACs’ spending was in vain. In Nebraska, the Fairshake network spent over $13 million opposing independent Dan Osborn, helping Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts fend off an unexpectedly strong challenge, preserving an industry ally on the Senate Banking Committee. In Kentucky, Republican Andy Barr won the Senate seat held by retiring Mitch McConnell after crypto PACs spent nearly $8 million backing him in the Republican primary, sending another industry ally to the chamber.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
