Industry's PAC Keeps Seeking to Add Allies as Congress Hashes Out Crypto Legislation

The crypto industry's political-finance arm, the towering campaign-funding entity known as Fairshake, dropped another $1 million into the coffers of a special-election candidate hoping to replace a Virginia Democrat who died in office, Representative Gerald Connolly.

The candidate favored by the industry's chief political action committee, James Walkinshaw, won the Democrats' so-called firehouse primary over the weekend, in which the party conducted its own polling to determine its chosen candidate among a field of nine. The general election to formally select the Fairfax County region's next member of Congress is set for Sept. 9, though the Democrat incumbent took about two thirds of the vote in the regular election last year, giving Walkinshaw a heavy advantage.

"We look forward to James joining the growing, bipartisan coalition in Congress that understands the importance of securing America's leadership in the next generation of technology," said Josh Vlasto, a Fairshake spokesman, in a statement. He argued that the race again demonstrated that the electorate isn't moved by critics who attempt to tarnish candidates who show support for the sector and are backed by its campaign resources, as at least one of Walkinshaw's opponents sought to do.

Fairshake (and its affiliate super PACs, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress) rose into prominence in the 2024 congressional elections as it amassed a huge war chest from major digital assets businesses, including Coinbase, Ripple and a16z. It devoted its campaign spending in outsized chunks that in some cases dwarfed what was spent by the opponents of the group's chosen candidates. As a result, Fairshake added a long list of winners to the ranks of Congress' crypto supporters in those elections, but it has continued its strategy in special elections as one-off contests seek to fill vacated seats such as Connolly's.

In the case of Walkinshaw, Connolly's former chief of staff, the spending came from Protect Progress, which focuses on Democrat candidates. While his former boss had voted routinely against crypto issues, Walkinshaw's campaign site says the candidate favors an "embrace of the next generation of technology," including blockchain, which the campaign said "can reduce administrative costs for businesses and lower fees for consumers."

"Congress should establish modern, risk-based regulatory frameworks that support responsible innovation and prevent abuse," according to Walkinshaw's website.

The super PAC still has about $116 million on hand as the 2026 congressional election cycle approaches next year, Vlasto said. Current members of Congress it supported in the past round are already at work on major crypto bills that have been advancing this year.

Fairshake makes massive "independent expenditures" in political races, meaning their outside money buys advertising without approval or communication from the candidate. Though it represents crypto interests, the advertising purchased by the group almost never mentions the topic of digital assets, instead focusing on whatever political points are most likely to garner a win.

Read More: Crypto's Fairshake Notches Latest Wins in Florida Congressional Races