Crypto-aligned PACs Spend $8M as 3 Primary Winners Advance

Several Democrats and one Republican backed by more than $8 million in ads from crypto-aligned political action committees won primary contests on Tuesday in Utah, Maryland and New York, advancing to November general elections.

In New York’s 15th District, Democrat Ritchie Torres won the primary with 71.9% of the vote. In Utah’s 2nd District, Republican Blake Moore won with 57.5%. In Maryland’s 5th District, Democrat Adrian Boafo won with about 32% after a media campaign that Protect Progress, a Fairshake affiliate, reported as costing $5.5 million.

Fairshake and its affiliates reported spending more than $8 million on media across the three races and reported holding about $150 million in cash on hand in June after those expenditures. The groups deploying the ads identified the candidates as supportive of digital asset policies.

Other political organizations linked to the crypto industry reported activity around 2026 contests. Fellowship has backing from Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital. The Blockchain Leadership Fund is a hybrid PAC supported by Anchorage and Chainlink Labs.

Not every candidate receiving crypto-aligned support prevailed. In New York’s 12th District, Democrat Alex Bores lost to Micah Lasher. Debate criticism referenced a reported $3.5 million spent on Bores’s behalf by a crypto industry figure.

Primaries in Colorado on June 30 and Arizona on July 21 are upcoming. As of Wednesday, Fairshake affiliates had not disclosed significant spending in those contests. Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter described the PAC’s approach as ‘We went big and we went early.’