Crypto's largest political spender is intensifying its campaign against one of the industry's most vocal critics. According to a Federal Election Commission filing signed October 15, Defend American Jobs—a Fairshake affiliate active in Republican-friendly races—disclosed a $5.2 million media buy opposing Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, followed by approximately $1.95 million in additional spending days later, plus media-production costs.
The combined spending brings the total opposition effort against Brown to about $46.66 million, making the Ohio race the crypto industry's most expensive 2026 target. The same filing showed parallel spending supporting Brown's Republican opponent, Jon Husted, who was appointed to the seat last year.
Brown, a longtime skeptic of cryptocurrency, chaired the Senate Banking Committee before losing his seat in 2024. Fairshake spent roughly $40 million to influence that race. A return to the Senate would give crypto skeptics a powerful voice on the Banking Committee, the same committee from which Brown previously stalled market-structure legislation.
The renewed Senate spending follows Fairshake's October 5 announcement that it would back 32 House incumbents—19 Republicans and 13 Democrats—framing itself as issue-focused and supporting pro-crypto candidates in both parties. The PAC committed an initial $6 million to six of these candidates: Republicans French Hill, Bill Huizenga, and Bryan Steil, and Democrats Janelle Bynum, Steven Horsford, and Derek Tran. All 32 backed the Clarity Act when it passed the House in July 2025.
Fairshake, funded primarily by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, entered September with approximately $120 million in cash and is expected to spend more than $100 million across House and Senate races this cycle.
