Crypto super PACs spent about $176 million across 100 races during the 2026 election cycle, including primaries, according to Reuters. That was up from more than $130 million in 2024. The spending helped secure some victories, but Democrats’ gains and the return of Sherrod Brown to the Senate have raised the prospect of increased scrutiny for the industry in Washington.
Fairshake and affiliated political action committees accounted for $154.5 million across 89 races. The network will carry more than $67 million into the 2028 elections, spokesperson Geoff Vetter told Cointelegraph, adding that the group would be watching the new political map.
Ohio was the industry’s biggest electoral setback. Crypto PACs spent more than $64 million seeking to keep Republican Sen. Jon Husted in office, but Brown won the special election to complete former Sen. JD Vance’s term, which ends in January 2029. Brown’s victory came two years after Fairshake spent $40 million helping Republican Bernie Moreno defeat him in Ohio’s other Senate seat.
The Ohio race also saw more than $350 million in independent expenditures overall. Brown made crypto spending a campaign issue, arguing in a campaign message that billionaires in the industry should not decide the election. His win may weaken the belief that opposing crypto PACs carries a significant electoral cost.
Democrats’ control of both chambers could bring a more challenging environment for the industry. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a prominent crypto critic, is in line to chair the Senate Banking Committee. Kyle Bligen, executive director of the Decentralization Research Center, told Cointelegraph that the incoming Congress would bring greater scrutiny of crypto.
The PACs had successes elsewhere. In Nebraska, Sen. Pete Ricketts kept his seat after Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs spent $13.5 million opposing independent challenger Dan Osborn. Fairshake also cited Senate victories in Alabama and Kentucky, both Republican strongholds.
Other spending did not produce the intended outcomes. Roughly $10 million spent by the Fairshake network against Juliana Stratton in the Illinois Democratic primary did not prevent her nomination, and she later won the Senate seat. In Massachusetts, Republican John Deaton lost despite about $700,000 in crypto-backed support. In Texas, Ken Paxton lost to James Talarico after receiving crypto PAC backing in a Republican runoff. In the House, digital assets subcommittee chair Bryan Steil lost to Democrat Mitchell Berman despite $1.9 million in crypto PAC funding.
The change in congressional control could slow crypto legislation, though BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said the election would not change the industry’s direction. He pointed to the GENIUS Act becoming law and ongoing work on stablecoin rules, tokenization and digital asset markets.
Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto counted 19 winning Senate candidates it classified as pro-crypto and eight as anti-crypto, with 33 of the 35 Senate races called as of 9:45 p.m. UTC on Nov. 4. Talarico, who won in Texas despite PAC spending against him, had supported a state Bitcoin reserve as a lawmaker and was rated strongly supportive of crypto by the group.
Industry advocates now face the task of building relationships with incoming lawmakers. Jessica Martinez, US policy director at Fireblocks, told Cointelegraph that many newly elected members had limited records on crypto, making early education important to influencing the Democratic policy agenda.
Sources: Cointelegraph.