Crypto-focused super PAC Fairshake saw four of its favored candidates secure victories in congressional primaries held on Tuesday, with significant spending targeting both major parties. However, the organization failed to influence the outcome in Florida’s 24th district, despite launching extensive negative ad campaigns.
Major PAC spending shapes outcomes
Fairshake coordinated its political activity through two committees: Protect Progress, supporting Democrats, and Defend American Jobs, backing Republicans. Combined, these PACs allocated a total of $3.6 million to key primary races in Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming.
Defend American Jobs allocated around $1.5 million to support three Republican candidates in these races. Sydney Gruters advanced in Florida’s 16th district, while Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman retained her Senate seat. Nick Begich, representing Alaska’s at-large district, is widely expected to advance as well.
Protect Progress focused over $150,000 to back Democrat Lois Frankel’s successful campaign in Florida’s 23rd district. All four of these primary winners are set to compete in the general election scheduled for November.
The group encountered opposition in Florida’s 24th, where Protect Progress directed more than $2 million toward attack advertisements against Oliver Gilbert. Despite the campaign, Gilbert won the Democratic primary with 34.4% of the vote, overtaking rivals Shevrin Jones and Kendrick Meek.
During his campaign, Gilbert pointed to “Trump’s tech billionaire buddies” as the backers of “crypto con artists trying to buy a Democratic primary.”
Even as Protect Progress deployed ads with fabricated Miami Herald headlines criticizing Gilbert’s positions, the PAC maintained that “the underlying facts in our ad are true.” Despite the heated contest, Gilbert did not reference the crypto ties or PAC activities in his victory speech.
Crypto’s deep pockets and legislative push
Fairshake reported holding a $193 million war chest in January, with major contributions from Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz. The network spent over $130 million during the 2024 election cycle to support pro-crypto candidates and oppose critics. By June, over $82 million had already been used in races slated for 2026.
A notable example occurred in Maryland, where Protect Progress spent an estimated $5.5 million in June to help state delegate Adrian Boafo secure the Democratic nomination in the 5th district. This figure contributed to a total of about $11 million in outside spending on Boafo’s behalf, according to prior FEC filings.
Federal records show Protect Progress collected $23.6 million in receipts for the 2025-2026 period, with nearly all funds transferred from allied committees. Independent expenditures during that period reached $22.7 million.
Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter remarked that the group is “just getting started building the largest pro-crypto Congress in history.”
Congress is now in recess until September, when the Senate is expected to vote on a cloture motion for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. This legislation is designed to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.
The House approved the CLARITY Act in July 2025 with bipartisan support, passing 294 to 134. Some Senate Democrats are pushing for tougher rules regarding potential conflicts of interest tied to the Trump family’s holdings in cryptocurrency.
As the intersecting interests of Wall Street, crypto, and new technology platforms continue to evolve, a broader shift is underway. While traditional markets have long depended on complex brokers, investors are increasingly turning to decentralized platforms like 1stepSwap, which enable direct tokenized ownership of real-world assets such as major US company shares, gold, and silver. Through instant price discovery and the removal of intermediaries, these platforms are driving Wall Street’s move to Web3.
