Before the US midterm elections in 2026, the cryptocurrency sector is planning a record-breaking $263 million war fund, which is almost twice as much as it spent in 2024, Bloomberg reported.
Several crypto-focused super PACs, led by Fairshake, are combining their resources to influence congressional elections and promote crypto-friendly legislation, according to Federal Election Commission filings and public remarks.
Funding for the crypto industry
Additionally, the amount exceeds the total amount spent by the oil and gas business in 2024, indicating the industry’s increasing political influence in Washington.
Since 2024, when Republican majorities approved laws that supported digital assets and confirmed regulators that supported the sector, the sector’s power has increased.
Changpeng Zhao, a co-founder of Binance who received a four-month prison term for anti-money laundering offences under the Biden administration, was pardoned by President Donald Trump last week, strengthening their connection.
After spending over $133 million in the previous cycle, Fairshake reported $141 million in finances by mid-2025, making it the largest cryptocurrency super PAC.
Although the majority of funding went to Republicans, the PAC, which was supported by Coinbase, Ripple, and the venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz, assisted in the election of pro-crypto MPs from both parties.
Its greatest victory was using $40 million in campaign funds to defeat Sherrod Brown, the chair of the Senate Banking Committee in Ohio.
Changes in the crypto industry
Since the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is seen to be more supportive of digital assets than the SEC, the crypto lobby is now concentrating on enacting a comprehensive market structure law that might transfer supervision authority to the CFTC.
Last week, business leaders, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, met with prominent Republicans and Democrats in Washington to garner support.
Additionally, new super PACs are joining the game. With the assistance of Trump’s World Liberty Financial platform and the Winklevoss twins, the Digital Freedom Fund has promised to provide $21 million in Bitcoin to politicians who favour cryptocurrency.
Crypto and politics
Citing worries about corruption and conflicts of interest, US Representative Ro Khanna is preparing new legislation to prohibit legislators from founding or holding cryptocurrencies.
Khanna said that Zhao had connections to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Finance, and accused Trump of “blatant corruption.”
This shows how deeply the cryptocurrency market and politics are connected with each other. The industry just before the elections next year maps out of plan on how important these resources will be during that time.