Crypto PACs eye 2028 after Democrats take Congress

Democrats win Congress after crypto PACs lose their biggest Ohio bet

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterms. Crypto super PACs — political groups that can spend large amounts of money to support candidates — spent about $176 million during the cycle, but the result did not protect their preferred candidate in Ohio.

Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Jon Husted in the Ohio special election. Brown will complete former Sen. JD Vance's term, which ends in January 2029.

The loss in Ohio was the industry's largest of the midterms, according to the source material. The Democratic sweep also puts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in line to chair the Senate Banking Committee.

Key numbers from the election cycle

• Crypto super PACs spent about $176 million across 100 seats, including primaries, according to Reuters, up from more than $130 million in 2024.
• Fairshake and its affiliated PACs accounted for $154.5 million across 89 races.
• More than $64 million went into keeping Husted in office in Ohio.
• Independent expenditures in the Ohio race topped $350 million.
• Fairshake says it has more than $67 million left heading to the 2028 elections.

Fairshake keeps funds for 2028

Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter said newly elected and current members will have a choice between protecting consumers and American jobs or fighting progress. He added that "28 is a new map."

Kyle Bligen, executive director at the Decentralization Research Center, said the next Congress will bring a different environment for crypto in Washington and the industry should expect more scrutiny.

Wins and losses outside Ohio

Nebraska was a win for crypto PACs. Sen. Pete Ricketts kept his seat after Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs spent $13.5 million opposing independent challenger Dan Osborn. Vetter said Fairshake was the biggest spender in that Nebraska Senate race and helped Ricketts in a hard-fought cycle.

Other Senate wins for its network came in Republican strongholds, including Barry Moore in Alabama and Andy Barr in Kentucky.

Other spending did not reach the intended result. The Fairshake network spent roughly $10 million opposing Juliana Stratton in the Illinois Democratic primary. She was nominated and later won the Senate seat. In Massachusetts, John Deaton lost despite about $700,000 from crypto-backed Commonwealth Unity Fund. Ken Paxton received crypto PAC backing in his successful Texas Republican runoff against John Cornyn, but later lost to James Talarico. In the House, digital assets subcommittee chair Bryan Steil lost to Democrat Mitchell Berman despite $1.9 million in crypto PAC funding.

What Brown's return could mean in the Senate

Brown's comeback came two years after Fairshake spent $40 million to help Bernie Moreno unseat him in Ohio's other Senate seat in 2024. Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini exchange, wrote on X at that time: "This is what happens when you mess with the crypto army."

This year, Brown used crypto spending as a campaign theme. In a campaign message he wrote, "I'll be damned if crypto billionaires decide this race."

Brown could seek a senior role on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US regulator for derivatives markets.

Views on the industry's path ahead

BitGo CEO and co-founder Mike Belshe said the election results would not alter the industry's trajectory. He pointed to the GENIUS Act, which he said is now law, and said stablecoin rules — stablecoins are digital tokens designed to keep a steady price, often tied to the US dollar — are moving ahead. He also said regulators are continuing to work on tokenization and digital asset markets.

Advocacy group Stand With Crypto counted 19 winning Senate candidates it classified as pro-crypto and eight as anti-crypto, with 33 of 35 Senate races called as of 9:45 p.m. UTC on Nov. 4. It rated Talarico as strongly supportive of crypto, noting he voted for the Texas Bitcoin reserve as a state lawmaker.

What happens next

Fairshake says it will be active again in 2028. Vetter said it played a meaningful role in winning competitive races in 2026 and will do it again in 2028.

Jessica Martinez, US policy director at Fireblocks, said many newly elected members had limited records on crypto. She said educating members early is key to shaping the Democratic policy agenda.

Sources

• Cointelegraph

Read also: Crypto megadonors see little payoff from millions spent in 2026 midterms