The crypto super PAC Fairshake backed winners in four out of five Congressional primaries on Tuesday. However, a Miami-area Democratic candidate withstood over $2 million in Fairshake-funded criticism.
Fairshake Won Four Primaries, Lost in Florida's 24th District
Fairshake directs its spending through two affiliated political action committees. Protect Progress backs Democrats, while Defend American Jobs supports Republicans. The two committees spent approximately $3.6 million on primaries in Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming.
Defend American Jobs spent about $1.5 million supporting three Republicans. Two of them won. Sidney Gruters won in Florida's 16th District, and Representative Harriet Hageman won Wyoming's Senate seat. A third, Nick Begich of Alaska, is expected to advance.
Protect Progress spent over $150,000 backing Democratic candidate Lois Frankel, who won the primary in Florida's 23rd District. All four will likely face opponents in the November general election.
The exception was Florida's 24th District. Protect Progress spent over $2 million on negative advertising and still lost. Oliver Gilbert won the Democratic primary with 34.4% of the vote, ahead of Shevrin Jones and Kendrick Meek.
On August 12, Gilbert accused "Donald Trump's tech billionaire friends" of being behind "crypto masters trying to buy the Democratic primary."
Protect Progress ads used fake Miami Herald headlines that misrepresented Gilbert's position. A spokesperson for the PAC responded that "the facts in our ads are accurate." In his victory speech on Tuesday night, Gilbert did not mention cryptocurrency or the ad campaign.
$193 Million War Chest Points to Need for CLARITY Act
As of January, the network reported a $193 million war chest, largely funded by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz. In the 2024 election cycle, it has spent over $130 million supporting allies and opposing critics. As of June, it had already spent over $82 million on the 2026 elections.
According to a previous Cryptopolitan report citing Federal Election Commission (FEC) documents, Protect Progress spent around $5.5 million in June to help Maryland state legislator Adrian Boafo secure the Democratic nomination for the state's 5th District. This amount is part of overall independent expenditures of about $11 million in his favor.
According to federal filings, Protect Progress reported receipts of $23.6 million for the 2025-2026 period, nearly all transferred from affiliated committees, and independent expenditures of $22.7 million.
Fairshake's Jeff Vetter stated the group is "just beginning to build the biggest pro-crypto Congress in history."
Congressional sessions will only begin in September, when the Senate will consider a cloture petition on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, aimed at establishing comprehensive rules for digital assets.
In July 2025, the House of Representatives passed the CLARITY Act with bipartisan support: 294 to 134. Senate Democrats have insisted on strong ethics rules regarding the Trump family's crypto assets.
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