The crypto industry is pouring millions into this year’s midterm elections to secure more allies in Congress.
Reuters reported Tuesday that the industry has spent roughly $176 million across more than 100 congressional races this election cycle.
The spending spree is part of a broader strategy to maintain the industry’s political influence after crypto-friendly President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029, according to the report. It also comes as Democrats have a strong chance of retaking the House in November, potentially bringing greater regulatory scrutiny to the industry.
While the industry is backing candidates on both sides of the aisle, Republicans have generally been more supportive of crypto—especially Trump, whose family made roughly $2.3 billion from crypto ventures between mid-2024 and April 2026, according to a separate Reuters investigation.
In contrast, the Biden administration took a tougher stance on crypto, particularly following the collapse of FTX in 2022. During Biden’s presidency, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed more than $6 billion in penalties across 98 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions.
Now, the industry appears willing to spend big money to avoid a return to that level of scrutiny.
In June, advocacy group Public Citizen reported that crypto was leading a wave of corporate political spending, alongside artificial intelligence, Big Tech and online betting companies.
Together, those industries had contributed $294 million to political committees this election cycle as of June. Crypto companies accounted for $189 million, or 37% of all corporate contributions tracked by the group.
Much of the industry’s election spending has been directed through Fairshake, its largest super political action committee (PAC).
According to Reuters, Fairshake and its affiliates had spent roughly $150.8 million on this year’s midterms through October 20.
The spending appears to be paying off. Of the 58 candidates Fairshake backed in primaries or special elections this year, 53 won their races, according to the group.
“We back pro-crypto candidates who support American innovation in both parties, and look forward to continuing to build on the largest pro-crypto caucus in American history,” Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter told Reuters.
The industry already scored a major legislative win last year with the passage of the Genius Act, which established federal rules for stablecoins. The law requires issuers to fully back their coins with liquid assets like U.S. dollars or short-term Treasury bills and to publish monthly disclosures of their reserves.
Now, the industry’s biggest legislative priority is the Clarity Act, which would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a larger role in overseeing cryptocurrency markets.
But the legislation has stalled in the Senate, where Democrats have pushed for an ethics provision that would force the Trump family to divest its crypto holdings.
Reuters reported that Fairshake decided to back only Republicans in Senate races after Democrats blocked the legislation from advancing to a final vote.
The stakes are pretty high for the industry. Without legislation establishing a regulatory framework, rules adopted under Trump could be easily reversed by a future administration.
