Super PAC Focused on Cryptocurrency Aims at Ohio and Montana Races that May Influence Senate Balance

After investing over $10 million to defeat Representative Katie Porter in California’s Senate race, the crypto industry’s super PAC has determined its next political targets for the fall, focusing on endangered Democrats in Ohio and Montana.

The crypto industry and its super PACs, which entered 2024 with over $80 million, aim to elect allies and shape favorable regulations in Congress.

Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Fairshake, the largest crypto super PAC, confirmed the PAC’s involvement in four Senate races this year. Particularly, the re-election of Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Senator Jon Tester in Montana.

Fairshake aims to build a sustainable, bipartisan crypto and blockchain coalition, leveraging their resources to affect races at every level. Mr. Brown and Mr. Tester are the only incumbent Senate Democrats running in states won by former President Donald J. Trump in 2020; essential wins for Democrats to maintain their slim majority.

Fairshake’s direction is clear despite not deciding whether to support or oppose Mr. Brown and Mr. Tester, especially given Mr. Brown’s skepticism of crypto and Mr. Tester’s potential Republican opponent, Bernie Moreno, being a crypto supporter.

All politicians running in targeted races will soon receive questionnaires documenting their stance on crypto issues. A common practice for special interest groups, but potentially complicated for the politicians responding to them.

Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz are major contributors to the crypto super PACs, accounting for most of the funds. The industry also supports a nonprofit, Stand With Crypto, highlighting that 52 million Americans own crypto and seek federal regulation to legitimize digital currency.

Senator Tester has also expressed skepticism about crypto, stating on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that crypto had not passed the “smell test” for him and regulation may give it real status.

After her defeat, Rep. Porter commented that her race in California had been “rigged by billionaires.” Mr. Vlasto responded by taking credit for Porter’s loss. In addition to PAC’s advertising, Stand With Crypto organized a rally featuring rapper Nas and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who claimed that being anti-crypto would become bad politics in 2024.

The 2024 election isn’t the first influenced by a large influx of crypto cash. In 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the bankrupted cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, invested millions into congressional races.

Besides Senate races, new crypto super PACs have already involved themselves in some Democratic House primaries and Republican races. The two affiliated crypto PACs, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, devoted themselves to Democratic and Republican races respectively.

Mr. Vlasto stated that Fairshake and its affiliates would evaluate candidates’ leadership on crypto-related issues, the significance of the election and their ability to impact the race when deciding who to support.