Fairshake-affiliated crypto PACs report $2.7M in House race spending
In brief
- Two Fairshake-affiliated PACs reported $2.7 million in combined media spending in FEC filings, per Cointelegraph.
- Pete Aguilar received $512,000 in backing and Josh Gottheimer received $500,000, per Cointelegraph.
- Every target voted for the CLARITY Act, which later failed a Senate procedural vote, per Cointelegraph.
- Fairshake had $122 million in cash on hand as of August, a Fairshake spokesperson said.
Who got the money
The FEC filings, as reported by Cointelegraph, show the two affiliates paying for media and direct mail productions to support House candidates from both parties. Among the expenditures Cointelegraph listed, the largest were $512,000 for California Representative Pete Aguilar and $500,000 for New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer.
The filings also listed more than $76,000 for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and $73,000 for House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson. Those four items are only part of the reported $2.7 million, not the whole of it.
Days before the filings, Fairshake said it planned to endorse an additional 32 House candidates, including six who'd each receive $1 million in supportive media. None of those six show up in the latest Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress expenditures, though Emmer, Aguilar, Gottheimer and Thompson were all on the endorsement list, Cointelegraph reported.
The CLARITY Act thread
Every target of the spending voted for the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in 2025, according to Cointelegraph. It's the market structure bill that would've given the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more oversight and enforcement authority over crypto. It passed the House with bipartisan support. It didn't get through the Senate, failing a procedural vote in September.
That vote is the backdrop here.
Stand With Crypto, an initiative launched by Coinbase, warned after the failed vote that candidates who didn't advance the bill could face consequences in the midterms. The group's trying to mobilize crypto-minded voters again (as it did in 2024 races), Cointelegraph reported.
A deep war chest
Fairshake itself is funded largely by Cantor Fitzgerald, Coinbase and Ripple Labs, per Cointelegraph. A Fairshake spokesperson said the PAC had $122 million in cash on hand as of August for its midterm strategy.
Part of that strategy is opposing former Senate banking committee chair Sherrod Brown in Ohio's Senate race, with at least $30 million set aside for media buys, according to Cointelegraph. While in office, Brown was one of the leading Democrats voting against many bills seen as favorable to the crypto industry.
Frequently asked questions
Which House candidates did the crypto PACs spend on?
According to FEC filings reported by Cointelegraph, the spending included $512,000 for Pete Aguilar, $500,000 for Josh Gottheimer, more than $76,000 for Tom Emmer and $73,000 for Glenn Thompson. All four voted for the CLARITY Act in 2025.
What happened to the CLARITY Act?
The CLARITY Act was meant to set market structure rules for crypto, including more oversight and enforcement authority for the CFTC. Cointelegraph reported that it passed the House with bipartisan support but failed a procedural vote in the Senate in September.
