Key facts
- Crypto PAC Fairshake plans to spend $30 million opposing Senator Sherrod Brown's 2026 reelection bid.
- Fairshake is primarily funded by cryptocurrency companies Coinbase and Ripple.
- In 2024, Fairshake spent approximately $41 million to help Bernie Moreno defeat Sherrod Brown.
- Brown lost the 2024 Ohio Senate race to Moreno by about four percentage points.
- Fairshake and other PACs spent over $300 million in the 2024 Ohio Senate race.
- Fairshake had $108 million remaining in its war chest at the end of August.
Crypto super PAC Fairshake plans to spend $30 million opposing Senator Sherrod Brown's bid to return to Congress, days after the Senate blocked the Clarity Act. The group confirmed the plan to target Brown, who is challenging Republican Senator Jon Husted in an Ohio race that could help determine control of the Senate.
Fairshake spent approximately $41 million in the 2024 election cycle to help Republican Bernie Moreno unseat Brown, who had chaired the Senate Banking Committee when Democrats held the majority. The overall spending by Fairshake and other aligned PACs in that election exceeded $300 million, with Brown ultimately losing to Moreno by about four percentage points.
The announcement follows the Senate's rejection of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would establish federal rules for crypto markets and divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Senate voted 49-50 against cloture on a motion to proceed to the bill, which needed 60 votes to advance. All Democrats present voted against advancing the bill, along with Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, and Jerry Moran. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis changed his vote to “no” for procedural reasons to allow the bill to be reintroduced at a later date.
Fairshake, primarily funded by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, had raised $116 million for the 2026 elections by January 2025 and reported $108 million remaining at the end of August. The group says it supports candidates from both parties who favor crypto-friendly policies, often focusing its ads on issues more likely to sway voters.