‘Playing politics to win’: Crypto spends big on Super Tuesday

The Super Tuesday primaries are the first big test of the cryptocurrency industry’s effort to rebuild its Washington influence operation.

A network of super PACs backed by major crypto firms and executives has spent more than $13 million to sway races in California, Texas, Alabama and North Carolina. It’s the largest spend yet from the groups’ $80-plus million war chest.

The super PACs — Fairshake, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs — are aiming to boost crypto allies and take down potential critics. A good showing by the industry’s preferred candidates could signal traction in its fight to build out a roster of lawmakers who are open to crypto-friendly policies. It’s also an indication of the U.S. crypto sector’s political aspirations following the downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried, who was a prolific donor before his FTX exchange collapsed.

Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto said crypto voters “will play a real role in who controls the House, Senate, and White House.”

“The crypto community is playing politics to win,” he said in a statement. “We will have influence and impact in races behind candidates who align with our agenda and our vision.”

Crypto's No. 1 Super Tuesday target is California, where Fairshake has spent more than $10 million attacking Rep. Katie Porter’s Senate bid. Its spending has been a boon for Rep. Adam Schiff, who leads Porter by a wide margin in the polls. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, a major backer of the PAC network, spoke at a get-out-the-vote rally hosted by a separate pro-crypto group on Monday in Los Angeles, along with the rapper Nas.

The groups are also spending significant sums in several other races that are more under the radar.

Protect Progress, the crypto donor network’s Democratic PAC, has spent $1.7 million supporting Shomari Figures, who is running to represent the area around Montgomery, Alabama, in a crowded House race. Figures previously served in the Biden DOJ and on the staff of Sen. Sherrod Brown, a leading crypto critic. The PAC has also spent just shy of $1 million supporting Julie Johnson, a Texas state lawmaker who is running in the competitive Democratic primary to replace Rep. Colin Allred, who’s seeking to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz.

One thing that Schiff, Figures and Johnson have in common is that they’ve posted pro-crypto language on their campaign websites that echoes industry messaging.

Schiff, who has never tweeted the word crypto or made it a focus as a House member, includes a section in his “affordability agenda” that calls for “comprehensive regulatory frameworks” that ensure crypto firms stay in the U.S. Figures’ site calls for policies that “embrace the new landscape around digital assets, like cryptocurrency, to stimulate innovation and technological advancement.” Johnson’s site touts the benefits of crypto innovation and calls for “clear rules of the road for the crypto industry to build technology that benefits everyday Americans.”

The campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.

The crypto super PACs are being spearheaded by Michael Carcaise, according to a person with knowledge of the groups’ operations. Carcaise previously served as treasurer and as a strategist for the now-defunct GMI PAC. GMI was active in the 2022 election cycle, when it received an array of industry support from players including Bankman-Fried and FTX. Former FTX executive Ryan Salame sat on GMI’s board.