Crypto Industry's Political Influence Takes Center Stage as Three States Launch Primary Elections
Following successful candidate endorsements in 2024, cryptocurrency industry-backed Super PACs are preparing to invest millions in the upcoming 2026 midterm electoral cycle.
As primary season commences in the United States, voters across North Carolina, Texas and Arkansas are set to select some of the initial candidates for the 2026 midterm elections, with outcomes that may significantly shape the composition of Congress and the trajectory of cryptocurrency regulation.
Within Texas, Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat, has entered the race to challenge Republican incumbent John Cornyn for his US Senate position representing Texas. Having served in the House of Representatives from 2023 onward, Crockett cast her vote in favor of the GENIUS Act stablecoin payments legislation in July, as well as FIT21, which preceded the CLARITY Act as the digital asset market structure bill—legislation she ultimately opposed.
In 2022, Crockett faced public examination following revelations that Protect Our Future, a political action committee (PAC) with financial backing from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, allocated $1 million toward supporting her congressional campaign for the US House of Representatives. Additionally, Web3 Forward, another PAC with connections to the cryptocurrency sector, purportedly contributed an additional $1 million to Crockett's electoral bid.
During a January interview, the Democratic candidate stated she had refused to accept "any corporate PAC money" for her 2026 Senate run, though this declaration does not prevent industry-backed committees from providing support to her campaign via media purchases or launching negative advertising campaigns against her rivals. Data from AdImpact, a political tracking platform, reveals that the Texas Senate primary has generated over $122 million in expenditures across both political parties through Feb. 27.
In the Democratic primary, Crockett is set to compete against James Talarico, a state Representative, while the Republican incumbent Cornyn confronts opposition from Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, among other challengers. This contest represents merely one among numerous races in 2026 with the potential to shift the congressional balance of power, given that 33 Senate seats alongside all 435 House seats are being contested.
A repeat of 2024 for crypto interest groups?
During the 2024 election cycle, Fairshake, the Super PAC receiving financial support from numerous cryptocurrency companies such as Ripple Labs and Coinbase, invested over $133 million in media expenditures backing Bernie Moreno's Ohio Senate campaign and additional critical electoral contests.
The outcome, as characterized by advocates like Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, and Kristin Smith, who served as CEO of the Blockchain Association at that time, was the emergence of what they termed the "most pro-crypto Congress" ever assembled, which subsequently approved the GENIUS Act and made substantial progress toward enacting comprehensive market structure legislation.
In January, Fairshake disclosed that it possessed $193 million in available funds prior to the midterm elections, resources that the organization has already begun deploying in efforts to shape electoral outcomes in Alabama and Texas. On Tuesday, Cointelegraph contacted a spokesperson seeking commentary regarding the primary elections, though no response had been provided by the time this article was published.
According to reports from February, Protect Progress, an affiliate organization of the PAC, announced it had designated $1.5 million specifically to challenge the reelection campaign of Texas Representative Al Green, explicitly referencing the congressman's stance as "actively hostile towards a growing Texas crypto community."
Stand With Crypto, an advocacy organization focused on cryptocurrency issues, classified Green as "strongly against crypto" according to his public declarations and congressional voting history, whereas his primary opponent, Christian Menefee, was awarded a "strongly supports crypto" designation.
In 2024, Donald Trump, the US President whose electoral campaign garnered substantial backing from cryptocurrency industry participants, secured the presidency. Following his victory, he proceeded to remove Gary Gensler from his position as Securities and Exchange Commission chair, replacing him with his chosen nominee, Paul Atkins, thereby fulfilling a campaign commitment to the industry. He also issued pardons for crypto figures including Changpeng Zhao, former Binance CEO, and signed the GENIUS Act into law.
Nevertheless, the president remains subject to ongoing allegations of conflicts of interest raised by numerous lawmakers stemming from his family's cryptocurrency business connections. Trump's presidential term is scheduled to conclude in January 2029.