Crypto PACs step up U.S. primary spending with Maryland focus

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Crypto PACs focus Maryland primaries

Highlights

Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, PACs supported by Coinbase and Ripple, spent about $3 million in California, $411,000 in South Dakota, and $3.1 million in Maryland primary races.
Fairshake PAC, with over $193 million as of January, and other crypto-aligned PACs like Fellowship and Blockchain Leadership Fund are expanding spending across key House and Senate primaries.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act advanced through Senate committees this year and now awaits consideration on the Senate floor, increasing legislative stakes for the crypto industry.

Primary spending expands across key races

As reported by the U.S. Federal Election Commission, Coinbase- and Ripple-backed PAC affiliate Protect Progress has spent about $3 million combined to support Democratic House candidates in California and New Jersey, while another affiliate, Defend American Jobs, has spent more than $411,000 backing Republican Senator Mike Rounds' reelection bid in South Dakota.

Filings also show Maryland is becoming a major target before its June 23 primaries. Protect Progress has spent more than $3.1 million on media supporting Democratic candidate Adrian Boafo in Maryland's 5th District, and about $320,000 on Representative Ritchie Torres' reelection campaign in New York's 15th District, which also holds its primary on June 23.

California's contests are the latest test of the cryptocurrency industry's electoral influence after Fairshake and other PACs backed House and Senate candidates who won their primaries in Texas last week. Fairshake reported a war chest of more than $193 million as of January, while other crypto-aligned PACs include Fellowship, backed by $11 million from Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, and the Blockchain Leadership Fund, funded by $175,000 from Chainlink and Anchorage.

Legislative agenda sharpens industry stakes

Fairshake has said it aims to unseat House and Senate lawmakers it views as anti-crypto, including Representative Al Green, who voted against the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation and the digital asset market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act. Green lost his primary in Texas' 18th congressional district after Protect Progress spent $5 million supporting his opponent, Democrat Christian Menefee.

The industry's election spending is unfolding as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act moves further through the Senate. After advancing through the Senate Agriculture Committee in January and the Banking Committee in May, the bill has been added to the chamber's calendar for consideration and a potential vote, though the amended versions approved by the two committees will likely need to be consolidated first.

Our earlier coverage of the CFTC’s approval of bitcoin perpetual futures on Kalshi explained why the decision rattled major U.S. exchange operators and sparked a selloff across the sector. We noted investor concerns that similar perpetual futures could eventually expand beyond bitcoin into other asset classes, intensifying competition for established venues such as CME and Cboe.

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