{"entity":{"id":29189,"slug":"fairshake-pac","name":"Fairshake","type":"institution","role":"Super-PAC funded by crypto industry to influence congressional races","description":"Fairshake is a federal super-PAC launched in late 2023, funded primarily by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz to support pro-crypto candidates in U.S. House and Senate primaries and general elections.","imageUrl":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-03T02:04:32.382Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-18T11:09:25.264Z"},"electedOffice":null,"significance":{"score":10,"components":{"totalFindings":0,"connectionDegree":8,"recentFindings90d":0,"activeResearchJobs":0,"goblinAttributions":1,"recentSyntheses90d":0,"moneyFlowChainsTotal":1,"closedLoopMemberships":0,"moneyFlowHopsRecent90d":0},"computedAt":"2026-10-16T01:34:31.424Z"},"facts":[{"id":46078,"text":"On May 2, 2026, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad confirmed that a bipartisan compromise on stablecoin yield (the Tillis-Alsobrooks deal) had cleared a 'key obstacle' for the CLARITY Act's Senate markup.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-05-02","source":null},{"id":46077,"text":"Fairshake reported a cash-on-hand balance of $191 million as of March 31, 2026, entering the midterm cycle with the largest single-industry war chest in U.S. history.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-31","source":null},{"id":44594,"text":"As of March 31, 2026, Fairshake reported a cash-on-hand balance of $191 million, positioning it as the largest single-industry Super PAC in U.S. history entering a midterm cycle.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-31","source":null},{"id":44548,"text":"As of March 31, 2026, Fairshake reported $191 million in cash on hand, making it the largest single-industry Super PAC entering the 2026 midterm cycle.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-31","source":null},{"id":46079,"text":"The Fairshake network has provided $63.4 million to Protect Progress and $55.5 million to Defend American Jobs in direct transfers since its inception through early 2026.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-23","source":null},{"id":44549,"text":"Fairshake has provided $63.4 million to Protect Progress and $55.5 million to Defend American Jobs in direct committee transfers since its inception through early 2026.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-23","source":null},{"id":44595,"text":"In the March 2026 Illinois primary, Fairshake and its affiliates spent approximately $14.3 million across House and Senate races, with preferred candidates losing in both high-profile contests against Juliana Stratton and La Shawn Ford.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-17","source":null},{"id":44550,"text":"Fairshake spent nearly $10 million in the March 2026 Illinois Democratic Senate primary to oppose Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, marking the largest single crypto-PAC expenditure of the 2026 cycle to date.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-17","source":null},{"id":44593,"text":"Fairshake’s spokesperson, Josh Vlasto, explicitly identified the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act) as a 'key issue' driving the committee's 2026 midterm strategy in March 2026.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2026-03-12","source":null},{"id":39414,"text":"Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz are documented as the three largest funders of Fairshake during the 2023-2024 cycle.","confidence":"secondary","dateOccurred":"2024-06-15","source":{"title":"Fairshake — 2024 Cycle Summary","url":"https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/fairshake/C00835959/summary/2024","publication":"OpenSecrets"}},{"id":39415,"text":"Fairshake's spending in the Ohio Democratic Senate primary (Sherrod Brown's seat) made it the single largest outside spender on a 2024 Senate primary contest.","confidence":"secondary","dateOccurred":"2024-06-15","source":null},{"id":39168,"text":"Fairshake's primary-cycle spending was concentrated in races where the candidate's stance on crypto market-structure or stablecoin legislation differentiated them from a primary opponent.","confidence":"secondary","dateOccurred":"2024-06-15","source":null},{"id":39167,"text":"Fairshake and its affiliates Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs spent in excess of $135 million on federal races during the 2024 cycle.","confidence":"secondary","dateOccurred":"2024-06-15","source":null},{"id":39412,"text":"Fairshake is registered with the FEC as committee C00835959 and reports under the super-PAC (independent-expenditure-only) regime.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2023-06-15","source":{"title":"Fairshake — FEC Committee C00835959 Filings","url":"https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00835959/","publication":"Federal Election Commission"}},{"id":39417,"text":"Evidence gap: Fairshake's strategy memos identifying which votes (FIT21, GENIUS Act, SAB 121) were treated as litmus tests for endorsement are not in the public record.","confidence":"inferential","dateOccurred":null,"source":null},{"id":39418,"text":"Evidence gap: The pass-through accounting between corporate donor wires and the affiliate-PAC outlays they ultimately funded is not separately reported in FEC filings.","confidence":"inferential","dateOccurred":null,"source":null},{"id":39169,"text":"Evidence gap: Internal allocation decisions between Fairshake and its affiliates Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs are not separately disclosed; cross-PAC transfers obscure the unified strategic control.","confidence":"inferential","dateOccurred":null,"source":null}],"connections":[{"id":19298,"relationshipType":"Indirect Financial Network (Same Treasurer)","description":"Brandon Philipczyk, sole named treasurer for Fairshake, Protect Progress, and Defend American Jobs, operates through Bison Strategies. No direct contribution, but structural connection through shared personnel. (Search results show Philipczyk as treasurer).","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2023","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":11026,"name":"Teresa Leger Fernandez","slug":"congress-l000273","type":"person"}},{"id":19177,"relationshipType":"potential PAC alignment","description":"Balderson's heavily PAC-funded campaign (50.76% from PACs) and pro-crypto voting record align with the policy interests of Fairshake, a crypto-focused super PAC.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":11087,"name":"Troy Balderson","slug":"congress-b001306","type":"person"}},{"id":18931,"relationshipType":"donor","description":"Crypto-backed Super PACs including Protect Our Future (funded by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried) spent $1,041,899 supporting Jackson in the 2022 primary. Though Fairshake is a separate crypto PAC, the pattern of crypto industry funding ties to Jackson's campaign.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2022","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":10930,"name":"Jonathan L. Jackson","slug":"congress-j000309","type":"person"}},{"id":18798,"relationshipType":"issue_opposition","description":"The documented facts show Lee voted against every significant pro-crypto bill including the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act, which Fairshake (a crypto PAC) typically supports. Lee criticized 'crypto AND AI PACs' as part of 'Big $' corrupting democracy.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2025","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":10888,"name":"Summer L. Lee","slug":"congress-l000602","type":"person"}},{"id":17835,"relationshipType":"affiliation","description":"Fairshake is another political action committee listed in the known entities; all are super PACs active in federal elections.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2026","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":32316,"name":"Defend American Jobs PAC","slug":"defend-american-jobs","type":"organization"}},{"id":17550,"relationshipType":"affiliation","description":"Protect Progress (which spent $1.5M on Randall's behalf) is affiliated with the Fairshake crypto super PAC network.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":11192,"name":"Emily Randall","slug":"congress-r000621","type":"person"}},{"id":16585,"relationshipType":"policy collaborator","description":"The Tillis-Alsobrooks deal on stablecoin yield was confirmed by Coinbase CPO Faryar Shirzad as clearing a key obstacle for the CLARITY Act, Fairshake's key issue.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2026","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":9250,"name":"Angela Alsobrooks","slug":"angela-alsobrooks","type":"elected_official"}},{"id":16584,"relationshipType":"policy collaborator","description":"The Tillis-Alsobrooks deal on stablecoin yield was confirmed by Coinbase CPO Faryar Shirzad as clearing a key obstacle for the CLARITY Act, Fairshake's key issue.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2026","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":9269,"name":"Thom Tillis","slug":"thom-tillis","type":"elected_official"}},{"id":13479,"relationshipType":"donor","description":"Timmons' top contributing industry in 2023-2024 was Leadership PACs ($163,400), and Fairshake is a major crypto-focused super PAC that supported pro-crypto candidates; Timmons' pro-crypto record suggests alignment.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":11051,"name":"William R. Timmons","slug":"congress-t000480","type":"person"}},{"id":13434,"relationshipType":"affiliation","description":"Fairshake is a crypto-focused PAC; Mann's pro-crypto voting record aligns with its interests.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":11023,"name":"Tracey Mann","slug":"congress-m000871","type":"person"}},{"id":13205,"relationshipType":"Potential Campaign Contributor","description":"Pro-crypto super PAC; Houchin's strong crypto advocacy aligns with Fairshake's mission, though specific contributions not mentioned in provided facts.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2023","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":10933,"name":"Erin Houchin","slug":"congress-h001093","type":"person"}},{"id":13154,"relationshipType":"inferential connection","description":"Fairshake is a pro-crypto PAC active in Michigan elections; while not directly named in Thanedar's documented facts, the $1M pro-crypto media campaign for his district likely involved Fairshake or affiliated groups given its prominence in federal crypto advocacy.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":10910,"name":"Shri Thanedar","slug":"congress-t000488","type":"person"}},{"id":13011,"relationshipType":"donor","description":"Fairshake is a crypto-focused PAC; Defend American Jobs (which supported Downing) is a crypto PAC. Both are in the same industry vertical, but no direct funding from Fairshake to Downing is documented.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":10854,"name":"Troy Downing","slug":"congress-d000634","type":"person"}},{"id":19490,"relationshipType":"Outside spending support","description":"The cryptocurrency-backed Fairshake PAC spent over $760,000 on independent expenditures supporting Steil's 2024 reelection, making it the largest outside spender in the race.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":11041,"name":"Bryan Steil","slug":"congress-s001213","type":"person"}},{"id":19158,"relationshipType":"affiliation","description":"The cryptocurrency super PAC 'Defend American Jobs' is affiliated with Fairshake. This PAC spent heavily to support Moore's 2024 primary campaign.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":10835,"name":"Riley M. 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Gomez subsequently voted for multiple pro-crypto industry bills including H.R.4763 (FIT21), the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and H.J.Res.25 (repealing IRS crypto broker rules).","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":11089,"name":"Jimmy Gomez","slug":"congress-g000585","type":"person"}},{"id":13167,"relationshipType":"donor","description":"Fairshake crypto Super PAC spent $984,696 supporting Nunn in the 2024 election cycle, making it the largest outside spender for his race.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2024","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":10916,"name":"Zachary Nunn","slug":"congress-n000193","type":"person"}},{"id":13079,"relationshipType":"opposition spending beneficiary","description":"Fairshake, a crypto industry PAC, spent $1.4 million opposing Bell's primary opponent Rep. 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