Midterms: $170 million in Crypto PACs, yet Sherrod Brown Secures Senate Seat

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The network had gone through 2024 almost without a defeat. More than a third of its spending this time missed its target and the crypto lobby wakes up to an entirely Democratic Congress.

The war chest reached approximately $260 million. Fortune details the breakdown of the 170 million released by the Fairshake network. This includes Defend American Jobs on the Republican side and Protect Progress on the Democratic side. Nearly 75 million supported Republicans and 30 million supported Democrats. Finally, 36 million were used to fight others, including primaries.

And then there's the rest. Bryan Steil chairs the House Digital Assets Subcommittee. He loses his Wisconsin seat despite 2 million support. Bill Huizenga also falls, two outgoing out of the 32 that the PAC deemed safe. Ken Paxton in Texas ($1.4 million) and Mike Rogers in Michigan ($810,000) were beaten. Same fate for Ashley Hinson in Iowa, supported to the tune of $700,000 by the Winklevoss brothers’ fund. In Illinois, the 10 million spent in March against Juliana Stratton was for nothing, she is a senator.

Ohio sums it all up. According to CoinDesk, Fairshake invested $56 million to block the path of the former head of the Senate banking committee. An amount never seen before for a single race. Fortune counts differently: 40 million for Jon Husted and 24 million against his opponent. The Digital Chamber speaks of 63 million all PACs combined. Regardless of the method, Sherrod Brown wins by nearly 5 points in the November 3 special election.

The Digital Chamber, the historic lobby of the sector in Washington, sees this as “the most adverse unfavorable result” of the evening. Its influence, she writes, “could go beyond committee votes and weigh on the overall approach of the Democratic caucus.” Mark Hays of Americans for Financial Reform drives home the point in CoinDesk: “a resounding defeat of the crypto industry’s overall political strategy.”

Not everyone beats their guilt. Wintermute's Ron Hammond said Fairshake "had every reason to attack him." Brown had led the charge against the industry for four years as head of the banking commission. His 2024 defeat was partly financed by this same PAC.

The AP count relayed by The Block gives 54 Democratic senators against 44 Republicans, two seats remaining to be allocated. In the House, Democrats have 240 seats with 48 races still open. Elizabeth Warren is the favorite to chair the Senate Banking Committee. Maxine Waters is once again targeting the House Financial Services Committee, even if her place there is contested.

What remains of the Clarity Act, the market structure law blocked in the Senate in September? The Democrats who negotiated it called for more controls on illicit finance and more consumer protection. They also wanted safeguards for elected officials who do business in crypto, Donald Trump first and foremost. They now control both chambers. According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, House Democrats are already discussing a broader text for the next Congress, with an expanded role for the SEC. The commission presidents regain the power of assignment.

Machine-translated from French