Crypto companies have spent $189 million on the 2026 U.S. midterm elections so far, accounting for 37% of all corporate political spending this cycle, according to a new Public Citizen report.

Ripple, Crypto.com, And Coinbase Are Writing The Biggest Checks

Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP) Labs leads crypto’s political spending at $49.6 million, followed by Crypto.com at $38.6 million and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) at $35.2 million. 

Entities tied to Gemini (NASDAQ:GEMI) and the Winklevoss twins added another $25.7 million, bringing those four groups alone to roughly $149 million combined.

The money flows primarily to two destinations. Fairshake, the crypto-focused super PAC, received $82.6 million in crypto-related contributions this cycle. 

MAGA Inc., the Trump-backing super PAC, received $56.2 million from crypto companies, with Crypto.com alone sending $35 million directly to that vehicle.

Crypto Is Outspending AI, Big Tech, And Online Betting Combined

The report puts total corporate political spending across crypto, AI, big tech, and online betting at $294 million this cycle. 

Crypto accounts for $189 million of that total on its own, more than AI and big tech ($60 million) and online betting ($45.6 million) put together.

Andreessen Horowitz leads all corporate donors at $51.65 million, but shifted its focus this cycle toward the AI-prioritizing Leading the Future PAC with a $50 million contribution, stepping back from its prior heavy involvement with Fairshake. 

Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street firm that serves as Tether’s banking partner, contributed $10 million to Fellowship PAC, a third crypto-focused political vehicle.

The CLARITY Act Is What This Money Is Trying To Buy

Crypto’s 2024 spending helped pass the GENIUS Act, which created a federal framework for stablecoins. 

The industry is now pushing for the CLARITY Act, which would extend federal regulation to the broader crypto market. 

That bill has stalled in the Senate, and analysts say it almost certainly dies if Democrats retake the House in November before it passes.

Many Democrats oppose the bill, arguing it doesn’t do enough to stop politicians, including President Donald Trump, from profiting off crypto ventures, a concern directly linked to the ongoing Senate investigation into Trump’s family ownership stake in World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI).

Public Citizen Research Director Rick Claypool said the full amount of corporate spending is likely higher than FEC disclosures show, since dark money groups allow corporations to conceal contributions entirely. 

The $189 million figure already exceeds crypto’s entire $170 million spend during the 2024 election cycle, and November is still four months away.

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