A major crypto industry PAC announced Monday it would donate $1 million each to six House candidates — three Republicans and three Democrats — as part of a spending effort that encompasses 32 campaigns. Fairshake PAC said it is giving $1 million each to three top House Financial Services panel Republicans — French Hill of Arkansas, the full committee chairman; Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, chairman of the Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee; and Bill Huizenga of Michigan, the committee's vice chair. The three Democrats to whom Fairshake is donating $1 million each are Reps. Janelle Bynum of Oregon, Steven Horsford of Nevada, and Derek Tran of California. The House passed legislation in July 2025 that would set rules for the operations and oversight of digital assets markets. The bill is a priority for the industry because cryptocurrency firms believe it would provide a regulatory framework to spur the growth of blockchain finance. The bill languished in the Senate for more than a year. Democrats and Republicans weren’t able to reach an agreement on ethics guardrails to prevent public officials from unduly enriching themselves through crypto ventures, among other aspects of the legislation. The Senate blocked the bill last month on a bipartisan procedural vote. After the measure's demise, Fairshake set its sights on this fall’s elections in an effort to bolster pro-crypto candidates — and take down perceived enemies. The group highlighted 19 Republican House candidates and 13 Democratic candidates to whom it will donate in its latest spending tranche. They include some big-name House incumbents, including: Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California, No. 3 in House Democratic leadership. Budget ranking member Brendan F. Boyle, D-Pa.; who would assume the chairmanship if his party retakes the majority. Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich. Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa. Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter did not disclose how much the group intends to spend on the 32 races beyond the six candidates who are receiving $1 million each. The political action committee had $108 million on hand at the end of August, according to the Federal Election Commission. Vetter called Fairshake an “issue-focused organization,” implying that it supports candidates on both sides of the aisle depending on their crypto orientation. “We back pro-crypto candidates who support American innovation in both parties,” Vetter wrote in an email. “We’ve won 53 of the 57 races we engaged in this cycle and look forward to continuing to build on the largest pro-crypto caucus in American history.” Other Democratic House incumbents that are part of the latest round of donations include: Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. Jonathan L. Jackson of Illinois. Lucy McBath of Georgia. Sarah McBride of Delaware. Jimmy Panetta of California. Hillary Scholten of Michigan. Terri A. Sewell of Alabama. Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia. And the remaining GOP lawmakers include: Ben Cline of Virginia. Troy Downing of Montana. Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota. Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin. Mike Haridopolos of Florida. Pat Harrigan of North Carolina. Brian Jack of Georgia. Frank D. Lucas of Oklahoma. August Pfluger of Texas. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania. David Rouzer of North Carolina. Austin Scott of Georgia. No Republicans voted against the market structure bill, known as the "Clarity Act," when it passed the House; all of the Democrats receiving Fairshake funds were among those voting for the measure in their caucus, which split 78-134 on the July vote. Fairshake's largest donors are associated with crypto exchange Coinbase; blockchain infrastructure and stablecoin provider Ripple; and Andreesen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm with a crypto-focused fund. Last month, Fairshake said it plans to spend $30 million against Democrat Sherrod Brown, the former Senate Banking Committee chairman and crypto skeptic, in Ohio. Brown is looking to return to the Senate by knocking off incumbent Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who was appointed to the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance. Incidentally, Brown would be in position to reclaim his seniority on Banking if he wins, which would put him in position to reclaim the chairmanship.
