Fairshake, the dominant cryptocurrency industry super PAC, has its eyes set on New York congressional races in this year’s midterm elections. And while the bipartisan PAC hasn’t named targets in the state yet, we have some hints.
The PAC is closely watching the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto told City & State. They support the bill, which passed the House in July but has stalled in the Senate. It would establish a broad regulatory framework for crypto assets that critics – including big banks – claim would make it harder for the government to detect fraud and illicit activities.
Candidates to watch include Democratic Reps. Laura Gillen, Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres, who all broke with the majority of their party to vote with Republicans to pass the bill, also known as the CLARITY Act. All three New Yorkers now facing primary challenges from the left – and Gillen could also face a competitive November race in her swing district.
Torres was even a co-sponsor of the legislation. And after Fairshake and an affiliated super PAC, Protect Progress, spent more than $173,000 boosting him in a non-competitive election last cycle, he’s already received some $232,200 from crypto titans for the current election cycle, including leaders from firms Andreessen Horowitz, Ripple Labs and Coinbase. That’s according to Follow the Crypto, a project by independent cryptocurrency researcher and journalist Molly White.
Goldman is facing a formidable primary challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander this year. Last cycle, Goldman was the beneficiary of more than $150,000 from Protect Progress. There’s been no crypto PAC spending – including from Fairshake – reported in his 2026 race yet, though Goldman has gotten $14,000 from prominent crypto investor Anthony Scaramucci.
Fellow Democratic Reps. Josh Riley, Tom Suozzi and Pat Ryan all represent purple districts and all voted yes on the CLARITY Act too. Ryan was a major beneficiary of crypto cash in his 2024 reelection effort, getting nearly $2 million from Fairshake. Suozzi, too, was supported by more than $900,000 in crypto cash in 2024.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler is being targeted by Democrats in the lower Hudson Valley. Lawler co-sponsored the CLARITY Act, but abstained from the final House vote on the bill. Lawler missed the vote because he was at the White House that day, campaign spokesperson Ciro Riccardi said, but “he absolutely supports the bill.” And cryptocurrency leaders seem to support him – he got a $3,500 donation from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in December.
“Everything is on the table,” Vlasto told City & State in a text about Fairshake’s spending plans. “With the midterms approaching, we are united behind our mission … to oppose anti-crypto politicians and support pro-crypto leaders. The time is now to protect consumers, cultivate American innovation, and open up the financial system to more Americans.”
Fairshake now has more than $191 million cash on hand to spend on the 2026 contests after stockpiling donations from industry players including Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase and Ripple.
Fairshake and its affiliates spent more than $133 million in 2024 to get pro-crypto candidates elected to Congress. That included $5.3 million on New York races, all boosting Democrats according to Follow the Crypto. All six candidates supported by Fairshake won.
That support sometimes meant an avalanche of political ads that by and large do not mention crypto in their commercials, but focused on character attacks against candidates they opposed.
Just ask former Rep. Jamaal Bowman who was subjected to more than $2 million dollars in Fairshake attack ads ahead of his June 2024 Democratic primary loss to Rep. George Latimer. Bowman was critical of the cryptocurrency industry, and after the loss, Fairshake criticized him for speaking out against repealing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s strict requirements on banks for handling crypto assets.
The SEC did rescind that guidance on how banks should account for crypto assets on in January 2025, after President Donald Trump took office. And now the crypto industry is experiencing a sugar high as the Trump administration has stood by as a defanged SEC dropped numerous high-profile criminal cases against big crypto companies. At the same time, the Trump team has championed cryptocurrency as a means of financial transaction, with the president promising to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”
In its eagerness to ensure a friendly Congress next year that will further legitimize the cryptocurrency business, the crypto industry is apparently not content to simply rely on Fairshake.
A new crypto super PAC, Digital Freedom Fund, launched in August funded by $21 million so far from investors the Winklevoss twins, who were major donors to Fairshake last cycle. Another crypto super PAC called Fellowship PAC launched in September claiming to have $100 million in its grasp, though that money has yet to appear.
The cryptocurrency investors are eager to flex their political muscle. In the aftermath of Bowman’s resounding primary defeat, Tyler Winklevoss took credit in a post on X: “Politicians everywhere need to understand that this is what happens when you pick a fight with the crypto army.”
