Crypto PAC Spends More Than $12 Million to Influence Alabama Senate Primary

Fairshake and its affiliates, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, are funded by major crypto companies including Coinbase and Ripple Labs. The network is seeking to build a bipartisan bloc in Congress that favors clearer rules for digital assets. Its spending matters because the next Congress will shape the fate and implementation of market-structure legislation, including the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, which would clarify federal oversight of crypto markets.

After Protect Progress spent about $1 million backing incumbent Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar in Michigan, Thanedar lost the Aug. 4 primary. Fairshake and its allied groups have now shifted to congressional contests in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming, committing more than $1.5 million to advertising ahead of all three states’ Aug. 18 primaries. The buys largely support bipartisan House and Senate candidates who previously voted for the CLARITY Act, underscoring the industry’s effort to reward lawmakers aligned with its regulatory agenda.

Protect Progress is an affiliate of Fairshake, the crypto-focused political action committee network backed by industry heavyweights including Ripple Labs and Coinbase. The groups aim to elect candidates viewed as supportive of digital-asset legislation. Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan’s 13th Congressional District has voted for the CLARITY Act, GENIUS Act and Promoting Innovation in Blockchain Development Act, making his primary a test of the crypto industry’s growing influence in Washington.

Federal Election Commission filings available as of July 21, 2026, showed Protect Progress had spent more than $986,000 on advertising supporting Thanedar and opposing Michigan state Representative Donavan McKinney. The outlay came about two weeks before the Aug. 4 Democratic primary, whose winner advances to November’s general election. The group also spent roughly $1 million backing Thanedar in 2024, when he won the primary with 54.9% of the vote and the general election with 68.6%. Fairshake and its affiliates reported a $191 million war chest.

The U.S. crypto industry has increasingly sought to influence congressional elections through Fairshake and its affiliated political action committees, backing candidates with industry-friendly positions. Primaries can effectively decide seats in safe districts, so the spending could reshape the Congress taking office in January 2027. It has also fueled a backlash among Democrats against outside financial support.

New York, Maryland and Utah held primaries on June 23, 2026, with crypto-backed PACs spending more than $8 million in total. Several candidates they supported won, including one in a Maryland congressional race where Protect Progress spent about $5.5 million. Some Democrats, meanwhile, urged candidates to reject money from wealthy crypto donors.

Fairshake is a super political action committee backed by crypto companies including Coinbase and Ripple. Its affiliate Protect Progress focuses on Democratic races, while Defend American Jobs supports Republican candidates. The network spent more than $130 million in 2024 and is now intervening in the 2026 midterm elections to expand the pro-crypto bloc in Congress, with implications for regulatory legislation including the CLARITY Act.

Federal Election Commission filings showed that Fairshake-affiliated PACs had spent $7.2 million in Georgia, Texas, Nebraska, Alabama and Kentucky as of May 7, 2026. Protect Progress accounted for about $1.6 million and Defend American Jobs about $5.6 million. On May 26, Christian Menefee, who received $5 million in campaign support, defeated Al Green in Texas. The groups disclosed more than $3.1 million in additional advertising spending in Maryland on June 2.

The crypto industry has expanded its election campaign through super political action committees such as Fairshake since 2024, spending more than $133 million that year and backing 53 incumbent members of Congress. Its goal is to consolidate bipartisan support and advance market-structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act, a successor to FIT21, helping shape the direction of digital-asset regulation.

Primaries began in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas on March 3, 2026, with the Fairshake network holding $193 million at the start of the quarter. By the Texas runoffs on May 26, crypto PACs had spent more than $9 million in the state during the current election cycle, helping Christian Menefee defeat Al Green and Ken Paxton defeat John Cornyn. Their bipartisan bets paid off in both races.

Defend American Jobs is a crypto industry-backed political action committee that targets congressional candidates who support digital-asset policies. Indiana Republican Representative James Baird voted in favor of stablecoin payments and digital-asset market structure legislation, making him an important congressional ally in the industry's view.

Defend American Jobs spent about $514,000 supporting Baird ahead of Indiana's May 5, 2026, Republican primary, primarily on campaign advertising. The latest results showed that Baird had won the primary in the state's 4th Congressional District, securing the Republican nomination to contest the November general election.