Political leanings: Pro-cryptocurrency
2022 Spending: N/A
Fairshake, its website says, is a super PAC that “supports candidates committed to securing the United States as the home to innovators building the next generation of the internet.” It generally supports politicians who back policies favorable to the cryptocurrency industry.
The group registered with the Federal Election Commission in 2023, and it is financially supported by some of the most influential companies and executives in the digital currency sector. As a super PAC, it can receive unlimited financial contributions from donors, who must be disclosed in periodical reports to the FEC.
In December, Fairshake, along with two affiliated super PACs, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, announced that they had raised a combined $78 million. Through Feb. 29, Fairshake’s total alone had grown to about $92 million, according to its FEC filings. Meanwhile, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress had collected about $10 million each, including $5 million transfers from Fairshake.
Among the largest contributors to all three super PACs are Coinbase, a company that operates a cryptocurrency exchange; Ripple Labs, which specializes in a blockchain technology used to make digital payments; and AH Capital Management, also known as Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the co-founders of AH Capital Management, are two of the biggest individual donors to the groups.
During the 2024 primary season, Fairshake has mostly been involved in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in California, where the group spent more than $10 million on independent expenditures opposing Rep. Katie Porter, who was one of several Democrats running to fill the position. The super PAC reportedly saw Porter, who failed to advance to this fall’s general election, as a potential ally of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a critic of cryptocurrency platforms.
The New York Times reported in March that a spokesman for Fairshake, Josh Vlasto, said the super PAC plans to be active in other U.S. Senate races – specifically, the Democratic primaries in Maryland and Michigan, and the general elections in Ohio and Montana.
The group also has spent almost $1.3 million on ads and other communications supporting a bipartisan group of candidates for House races, including Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.
As for Protect Progress, it has spent over $2.7 million on independent expenditures supporting Democratic House candidates. Meanwhile, Defend American Jobs has spent almost $7.3 million supporting a mix of Republican House and Senate candidates.