Two Fairshake affiliates are injecting $2.7 million into U.S. House races ahead of November’s midterm elections, even as the industry’s goal of clear U.S. cryptocurrency regulation remains far from assured.
Fairshake raised $137.9 million from January 2025 through August 31, 2026, including $99.1 million from individuals. It transferred $70 million to committees, spent $13.3 million independently, and held $108.3 million in cash reserves. Republican-leaning Defend American Jobs received $37 million in transfers and spent $32.5 million independently, while Democratic-leaning Protect Progress received $33 million and spent $27.6 million. Major backers include Ripple, Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz, according to Hub Culture.
The House passed the CLARITY Act in July 2025, but in September 2026 all Senate Democrats and several Republicans voted against advancing it. President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures became a sticking point, with Democrats demanding tougher limits on officeholders’ dealings. Ron Hammond, Wintermute’s head of policy and advocacy, described the dilemma as “a pretty hard needle to thread.” Fairshake has not disclosed its Senate race approach, but has reserved $30 million to spend against former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, whom it helped defeat in 2024, and has been involved in campaigns of 32 sitting House members.
Regulation remains the primary worry for crypto investors, according to an August 2026 CoinShares survey of 30 fund managers with about $1.16 trillion in assets under management. Crypto allocations reached 1.2% of portfolios, driven entirely by institutions. CoinShares research head James Butterfill attributed part of Ether’s poor prospects to “the falling odds of the Clarity Act passing this year.” Among respondents not invested in crypto, volatility was the leading obstacle.
Chainalysis estimated $9.4 trillion in global crypto activity in the year ending June 30, 2026, down only 1.6% despite a roughly 50% market-cap decline. Latin America grew 9.8%, helped by stablecoins, while Brazil topped its adoption index. On October 12, 2026, the Financial Stability Board warned that global stablecoins could become “systemically important” across jurisdictions, with FSB Chair Andrew Bailey introducing the note alongside finalized guidance on responsible AI adoption.
Clearer U.S. rules could give investors more confidence and help countries align their approach to crypto, but even billions in political spending cannot guarantee action in Congress, and stablecoin adoption is moving ahead globally regardless.
