Crypto-Backed Fairshake PAC Spends $20M, Wins Primaries

Crypto-aligned political action committees tied to the Fairshake network reported spending about $20 million on media ahead of Tuesday’s primaries, backing pro-crypto candidates in Georgia and Kentucky and helping one Alabama Republican reach a runoff.

Federal Election Commission filings show Protect Progress, the Democratic-aligned committee, spent more than $4.2 million to support Jasmine Clark in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. Defend American Jobs, the Republican-aligned committee, reported roughly $455,000 for Clay Fuller in Georgia’s 14th District, $709,000 for Houston Gaines in the 10th, $431,000 for Jim Kingston in the 1st, and $7.2 million for Andy Barr in Kentucky’s U.S. Senate primary.

In Alabama, Defend American Jobs reported $7.4 million supporting Rep. Barry Moore in the U.S. Senate primary; Moore advanced to a runoff after no candidate won a majority.

Protect Progress also increased spending in Texas, reporting more than $4.1 million to support Christian Menefee in the 18th Congressional District and more than $2.8 million on media opposing incumbent Rep. Al Green. Neither Menefee nor Green secured a majority, triggering a runoff next Tuesday.

Fairshake has stated the PAC network is largely funded by cryptocurrency companies including Ripple Labs and Coinbase and plans to continue opposing candidates it views as anti-crypto while backing those it considers pro-crypto.

Geoff Vetter, a Fairshake spokesperson, described the results as ‘a clear victory for pro-crypto leaders across the country’ and called the returns a ‘powerful bipartisan mandate’ from Georgia to Alabama to Kentucky.

The coalition reported holding a $193 million war chest earlier this year, compared with about $130 million spent on media and ads in the 2024 cycle. FEC records show the group has not always prevailed; it spent roughly $8 million opposing Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton in a U.S. Senate primary, and Stratton won with more than 40% of the vote.

FEC disclosures indicate the groups’ strategy centers on targeted media buys to boost favored candidates and run negative ads against those labeled anti-crypto. Opposition expenditures have included multimillion-dollar buys in individual races and ads against incumbents who voted against payment stablecoin and market-structure bills.

Tuesday’s outcomes produced nominations for several Fairshake-backed candidates and set additional runoffs where no one secured a majority. The PAC network has said it plans to continue large-scale spending into the 2026 midterm cycle to influence contests tied to lawmakers’ cryptocurrency positions.