Billion-Dollar Lobby: Crypto Industry Ascends as Washington’s New Political Power Bloc

Billion-Dollar Lobby: With industry-backed political parties raising over $263 million to influence the midterm elections next year, cryptocurrency has gone from being an outsider to an insider in Washington.

The industry, which was once written off as a fringe movement, is now among the biggest donors to political campaigns in the US capital.

Political action committees, or PACs, are entities that raise and disburse money to support or oppose politicians at the local, state, and federal levels in the US political system. The industry was formerly dominated by regulated industries like energy, telecommunications, and healthcare, but it is now being changed by wealthy cryptocurrency organizations with a clear goal: to get favorable regulations and supportive legislators.

President Donald Trump has publicly supported the sector, seeing its growth as a way to strengthen the dollar’s position as the dominant currency in international banking as well as an economic opportunity. With a slim majority in Congress, the Republican Party has shown considerable support for pro-crypto politicians. When Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, a co-founder of Binance who had been imprisoned under anti-money laundering rules under the previous administration, last week, the sector’s power was exposed.

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, it is anticipated that the amount of money controlled by crypto PACs would increase. The majority of the money is probably going to go to Republican candidates, which might give them a fresh edge in fundraising during a hotly fought election year.

Focus on legislation

According to lobbyists, this cycle’s expenditure will be concentrated on enacting the CLARITY Act, a comprehensive market-structure measure that would broaden the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s jurisdiction and specify how digital assets are regulated. Last week, executives from prominent blockchain companies met with politicians in Washington to advocate for advancements. According to Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber, “the industry’s success in 2024 created a blueprint showing that crypto has a voice and can impact elections.”

Important participants

With $141 million on hand, Fairshake, supported by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, continues to be the biggest cryptocurrency PAC. According to political financing data tracker OpenSecrets, it spent $133 million in 2024 to support the election of MPs who supported cryptocurrency. The majority of Fairshake’s expenditures favored Republican candidates, including $40 million to unseat former Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown, even though it did assist certain Democrats during the previous election.

A number of more recent organizations with more Republican affiliations have entered the market. Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss established the Digital Freedom Fund, which promised $21 million in Bitcoin to back politicians who backed Trump. Mike Rogers, a candidate for the Michigan Senate, is among the pro-crypto conservatives backed by First Principles Digital PAC, which is run by Republican strategist Jason Thielman. Fellowship PAC, another newcomer, has pledged $100 million and is allegedly supported by individuals associated with Tether, which just formed a US organization to handle political contributions, and Cantor Fitzgerald.

An expanding political power

Meanwhile, Democrats are starting to plan a reaction. Former Senator Elizabeth Warren staffer Erik Balsbaugh is in charge of Open Frontier, a progressive group dedicated to interacting with left-leaning crypto policy.

Industry executives claim that despite Democrats’ persistent skepticism, cryptocurrency’s economic strength guarantees its political viability. “They understand how valuable the industry is,” Sergey Nazarov, a co-founder of Chainlink Labs, told Bloomberg. “It will only continue to grow, so they must properly address it.”

Crypto has already established itself as a powerful political force in Washington, regardless of whether Democrats enter the money race or not. The 2026 midterm elections will demonstrate exactly how much power that money can purchase.