As voters head to the polls for Democratic and Republican congressional primaries in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota, the cryptocurrency industry’s attention has turned to the upcoming Maryland primaries later this month.
Crypto PACs increase spending in several states
Protect Progress, a political action committee tied to Coinbase and Fairshake and backed by Ripple, spent about $3 million supporting Democratic candidates in House races in California and New Jersey, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission records. Meanwhile, Defend American Jobs, operating under the same umbrella, has dedicated more than $411,000 to support Republican Sen. Mike Rounds’ re-election bid in South Dakota.
Federal records reveal that crypto-backed political committees are funneling significant resources not only into state-level races but also into crucial congressional primaries that could shift the balance of power.
Maryland became the primary focus of this fundraising effort. Data shows that Protect Progress has allocated more than $3.1 million to media campaigns supporting Democrat Adrian Boafo in Maryland’s 5th District, where the primary is set for June 23. The committee also spent about $320,000 to support the re-election of incumbent Ritchie Torres in New York’s 15th District, which will also hold primaries that day.
Mini Glossary: ​​A Political Action Committee (PAC) is an organization in the United States that can receive and spend donations for election campaigns. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) oversees such campaign financing and spending at the federal level.
Fairshake’s electoral strategy and recent results
Today’s California primaries are seen as an important test for the cryptocurrency sector’s influence on the US elections. Last week’s Texas primaries saw victories for House and Senate candidates backed by Fairshake and other crypto-friendly PACs, attracting considerable attention.
Beyond Fairshake, which reported more than $193 million in funds available in January, other crypto-aligned PACs include Fellowship, backed by financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald and crypto custody firm Anchorage Digital, as well as the Blockchain Leadership Fund, funded in part by Chainlink and Anchorage. Fairshake has openly stated his intention to remove from office members of Congress he considers anti-crypto.
Fairshake has already made clear its mission to target individuals in the House and Senate who it identifies as opponents of the crypto industry.
Texas Rep. Al Green has become a focal point of this campaign. Green had voted against both the GENIUS Act, which concerned the regulation of stablecoins, and the CLARITY bill on the structure of the digital asset market. After Protect Progress spent $5 million to support his rival, Democrat Christian Menefee, Green lost his primary in Texas’ 18th Congressional District.
CLARITY bill advances in Senate
Meanwhile, the CLARITY Act, relating to the structure of the digital asset market, has been placed on the legislative calendar of the US Senate. The bill was advanced by the Senate Agriculture Committee in January and was approved by the Banking Committee in May. The next steps involve debate and possible vote by the full Senate.
However, observers note that the two different versions of the bill, which passed out of committee, may need to be merged before any vote in the Senate. The outcome of this process will be key to determining which agencies will oversee digital assets and what framework will govern the sector in the future.
