Political leanings: Pro-cryptocurrency
2024 Spending: $195.8 million
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.” Generally, it 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.
FEC records identify Brandon Philipczyk as Fairshake’s treasurer and Josh Vlasto is the group’s spokesman. Philipczyk has worked on various campaigns for Democratic candidates, including former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign for president. Vlasto previously served as press secretary for Sen. Chuck Schumer and former New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, both Democrats.
As a super PAC, Fairshake can receive unlimited financial contributions from donors, who must be disclosed periodically in reports to the FEC. As of June 30, it had received almost $137 million in the 2026 election cycle and still had about $127 million on hand, according to its latest FEC filing in July.
Its largest contributors include 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, or a16z, a venture capital firm. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the co-founders of Andreessen Horowitz, remain two of the super PAC’s biggest individual donors.
The super PAC has already spent roughly $13.3 million this election cycle on independent expenditures, which are advertisements and other communications that expressly advocate for or against candidates for office. In February and March, it opposed a trio of Illinois Democrats in congressional primary races, including the state Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who won the Democratic nomination in the Illinois Senate race; state Rep. La Shawn Ford, who won the Democratic nomination for the state’s 7th Congressional District seat; and state Sen. Robert Peters, who failed to win the Democratic nomination for the state’s 2nd District seat.
Last year, Ford and Peters voted for a 2025 state law that put in place new rules for the digital assets industry. Meanwhile, one of Stratton’s primary opponents, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, may have been seen as more of an industry ally, since he had cast votes for federal legislation described as “very pro-crypto” by a nonprofit called the Stand With Crypto Alliance.
For the 2026 midterms, Fairshake has also contributed at least $51 million to two affiliated super PACs, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, which have spent tens of millions of dollars supporting certain House and Senate candidates.
During the 2024 elections, Fairshake spent about $195.8 million in total. It donated more than $86 million to Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress. It also put nearly $40.7 million into independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates. According to the website OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign spending, Fairshake spent about $14 million for Democrats, about $13.5 million against Democrats and roughly $13.1 million for Republicans.
FactCheck.org Undergraduate Fellow Angela Lin contributed to this article.
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