A super PAC funded overwhelmingly funded by venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz is bankrolling anti-crypto Democrats in battleground Senate races, enraging pro-crypto Republicans.
Republicans have cried foul as Fairshake PAC and its affiliated super PACs have reserved millions in ads to spend in two Senate races that could determine if the GOP could flip the Senate majority. Fairshake and its affiliated super PACs will spend $3 million to bankroll Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in Arizona and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in Michigan. Fairshake is largely funded by Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm.
When NBC News pressed Fairshake for comment about bankrolling Democrats, the super PAC pointed toward their “A” ratings with Stand With Crypto, a nonprofit group advocating for the cryptocurrency industry.
However, both Slotkin and Gallego have largely been anti-crypto.
Slotkin earned an “F-“rating with Stand with Crypto as recently as March, and Gallego in 2023 credited Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a staunch anti-crypto lawmaker, for being an “outspoken advocate for regulation and oversight of crypto.”
In 2022, the Arizona Democrat also praised a candidate who slew the “crypto beast” and attacked Elon Musk for “pushing Bitcoin” and even signed onto legislation that the crypto industry opposed. She also voted against the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, a bill that would prevent the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Slotkin also voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or the so-called infrastructure bill, which expanded reporting requirements for the digital asset industry.
Whereas, Mike Rogers, Slotkin’s Senate Republican opponent, has called on the government to “embrace” crypto and filled out Stand with Crypto’s questionnaire and demonstrated support for the industry.
As for Gallego, he also opposed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, voted for the anti-crypto infrastructure bill.
In contrast, Arizona Senate Republican candidate Kari Lake has an A rating with Stand with Crypto and has frequently strong statements about backing the industry.
Republican and conservative groups, and even some industry leaders have balked at Fairshake’s backing of Democrats who were until very recently anti-crypto.
“Why would you bankroll anti-crypto politicians who are going to turn around knife your industry the second they get into office? The people running Fairshake are playing Marc Andreesen and the entire crypto industry for fools. Chuck Schumer’s allies have entirely co-opted the Fairshake PAC to support anti-crypto Democrats,” a Capitol Hill insider told Breitbart News in a written statement.
“Sam Bankman-Fried’s team was good at one thing, funneling enormous sums of money to liberal candidates and causes. Now the same team is doing it with different benefactors. This has nothing to do with crypto and will blow-up in their faces,” a conservative insider who works on cryptocurrency issues in policy and campaigns told Breitbart News.A senior GOP aide told NBC News, “It is reminiscent of when the Chamber of Commerce bankrolled a bunch of anti-business House Democrats who turned around and passed massive tax hikes on businesses with the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. Now, the Chamber of Commerce can’t even get a meeting with House Republican Leadership to discuss their priorities.”
“It is surprising that whoever is advising Fairshake has come up with the same flawed strategy,” the aide added.
A Republican strategist told NBC News that Coinbase, who also funds Fairshake, are trying to become “toxic” to Republicans by funding Democrats.
The source said, “Spending against two key GOP candidates could jeopardize the Senate and harm Trump. Gallego and Slotkin have voted against bitcoin interests and would vote to confirm a far-Left SEC Chairman. It makes no sense.”
“Republicans are WTF about what’s going on with Fairshake, and I think that’s a pretty bad omen for the industry, that people are wondering why our main trade association is pointing its arsenal at our friends. A lot of people are walking around the CLF conference astonished that this is the strategic chess move that the industry has made,” an industry leader told NBC News.
An insider in Trump’s orbit likened it to a “pro-Israel group” funding the progressive “Squad.”
Related: Tom Emmer: Cryptocurrency Bill Would Ensure that America Remains Dominant on the ‘Next Iteration of the Internet’
Former President Donald Trump has promised to the “crypto president” should he take back the White House. Major cryptocurrency leaders such as Gemini cofounders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Kraken founder Jesse Powell have donated significant funds to his election efforts.
At the Bitcoin Conference in July, Trump promised to make several pro-crypto moves if elected, including firing the anti-crypto Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler, and creating a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile.
“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,” Trump said at a campaign event in Minnesota in July.
Now, Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to “reset” relations with the crypto industry.
Despite the Harris-crypto “reset,” Harris is reportedly working with Brian Deese and Bharat Ramamurti, two former Biden economic advisers who have opposed pro-crypto legislation for being too “permissive” for stablecoin issuers.
“The big political question here is, can Harris convince proponents of industry that she has done a 180, or is it just talk?” a former Trump regulator said. “Because they will not believe that she will cross Elizabeth Warren.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
