A political action committee (PAC)-affiliated organization, Fairshake, primarily funded by Coinbase and Ripple Labs, has directed over $2 million towards advertising against a Democratic Party candidate. Prior to this ad campaign, he apparently had not held a notable position on digital assets.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data from Tuesday, the Protect Progress PAC spent over $2 million on advertising against Democratic candidate Oliver Gilbert in Florida's 24th congressional district. Before the PAC's intervention, no candidate in the Democratic primary had apparently taken a firm stance on digital assets as part of their campaign.
The Democratic candidate is running for the seat currently held by Representative Frederica Wilson. In Congress, she voted against digital asset market regulation bills (the CLARITY Act) and stablecoin innovation legislation (the GENIUS Act), and later endorsed Gilbert. Shevrin Jones, a Florida state senator and Democratic candidate who was leading Gilbert in a poll in early August, completed a survey for the Stand With Crypto organization and received a rating of "strongly supports" from the advocacy group. Gilbert reportedly stated
that "tech billionaire pals of [Donald] Trump" were behind "crypto scam artists trying to buy the Democratic primary" through ads that used fake Miami Herald headlines unrelated to digital asset policy. Wilson endorsed Gilbert at an event on June 22. Cointelegraph reached out to Gilbert's campaign and a Fairshake representative for comment but did not receive an immediate response. In January, Fairshake reported a war chest of $193,000,000. The organization has channeled these funds through affiliated structures such as Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs to support Democratic and Republican Party candidates, respectively, in the 2026 midterm elections. By June, the PAC had already directed over $82,000,000
towards primaries and special elections to influence voters through advertising. Related: Crypto PAC directs another $1,000,000 to Michigan House race
Primaries that will determine the balance of power in 2027 On Tuesday, voters in Alaska, California, Florida, and Wyoming will determine the congressional candidates who will compete in the general election in November.
The Protect Progress PAC also spent over $150,000 on advertising in support of the re-election of Lois Frankel in Florida's 23rd congressional district. Defend American Jobs
reported spending a total of $1,500,000 on advertising
in support of Representative Nick Begich in Alaska's at-large congressional district, Republican candidate Sidney Gruters in Florida's 16th congressional district, and Representative Harriet Hageman, who is running for one of Wyoming's U.S. Senate seats. The primaries will determine whether the Democratic Party regains control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in the next congressional session beginning in January, or whether Republicans maintain their majorities. Both chambers have recessed until September. At that time, the Senate is expected to vote on the CLARITY Act. Magazine:
"Bitcoin will reach $1,000,000 by 2030 — it's mathematically impossible," says Markus Thielen.
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