Jump Crypto adds $10 million to industry’s U.S. political fund, bringing PAC to $169 million

A spokesperson for the PAC confirmed that Jump Crypto has invested an additional $10 million in the U.S. Political Action Committee (PAC), which is trying to bring as many crypto advocates as possible into Congress to push through legislation demanded by the industry.

The $15 million from Jump, a Chicago-based investment firm, means that Fairshake and its affiliated PACs have amassed nearly $169 million as of Wednesday, according to spokesman Josh Vlasto, giving the fledgling industry one of the most effective campaign finance organizations for the 2024 election. The so-called super PACs are flooding the primaries with massive advertising spending and see many of their favorites on the path to likely election victories in November.

“The crypto and blockchain communities have truly come together to form a sustainable, bipartisan coalition and effective operation that is built for the long haul,” Vlasto said in a statement. “We will continue to support candidates who are committed to getting things done and working with the industry to pass responsible regulations that drive innovation, create jobs, and maintain America’s global leadership.”

A spokeswoman for Jump declined to comment on the donation. The company’s eight-figure donation follows a series of other $25 million donations from major crypto companies Coinbase Inc. (COIN), Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

Fairshake and its brothers (two PACs called Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress) still held $109 million at the time of filing with the Federal Election Commission on May 31, Vlasto said, despite the fact that there are less than five months until the final vote. The spokesperson confirmed that the PAC has no plans to support presidential candidates, so the goal is to find proven members of Congress and crypto-friendly candidates.

Incumbent members of Congress are suddenly easier to evaluate in this regard. Previously, there weren’t many practical cryptocurrency-supporting measures to evaluate politicians in the House and Senate, but both chambers have now voted on digital asset efforts.

In May, the House of Representatives passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), the first far-reaching crypto regulatory bill to pass either chamber of Congress. Its chances in the Senate are limited – dependent on whether key lawmakers can somehow manage to wrap the bill into a must-pass bill. A side benefit for the industry, however, was that it immediately learned which of the 435 House members are committed to crypto regulations.

Also in May, both chambers voted to repeal a controversial Securities and Exchange Commission crypto account policy, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121). The measure was scuttled by a veto from President Joe Biden, but showed that 11 Senate Democrats were willing to join Republicans in opposing the SEC policy and the White House preference.

Both efforts drew more support than expected from Democrats, and the results are used to evaluate lawmakers. Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group founded by Coinbase, maintains a rating system for politicians. For example, the grade of “D” for Senator Mark Warner (Democrat, Virginia) reflects his vote against the SAB-121 resolution, while the grade of “B” for Senator Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) shows he was in favor.

“The recent votes have helped us educate our advocates about how politicians stand on crypto,” Sabrina Siddiqui, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement. She said Stand With Crypto reached more than a million online members several months earlier than expected because “people united behind these important votes.”