Crypto PAC bankrolls Moore while CLARITY Act stalls

Fairshake, a major crypto super PAC, spent more than $12 million supporting Republican Barry Moore in the Alabama Senate runoff. Moore won roughly 56% of the vote, giving him a near-certain general election path in the deeply Republican state.\n\nThe PAC and its affiliates have backed about a dozen primary winners this season. Fairshake concentrated spending in low-turnout party primaries in Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and other states, where smaller ad buys can have outsized influence. The group ran roughly $20 million in Southern contests, including more than $7 million for Andy Barr in Kentucky; Barr won with more than 60% of the vote. By the PAC’s count, it was 6-0 in May Southern primaries and 11-11 in June.\n\nProtect Progress, Fairshake’s Democratic-leaning affiliate, spent $1.5 million on ads opposing Representative Al Green in Houston, helping Christian Menefee prevail in a Democratic runoff. Campaign finance filings show the PAC funded contests on both sides of the ballot, targeting safe districts where primary winners are likely to advance to Congress.\n\nMajor donors include Coinbase, the venture firm a16z and Ripple. Those backers have committed hundreds of millions across two election cycles. Fairshake entered the year with about $190 million and has reported holding nearly $150 million in cash. A Fairshake spokesman described the group’s intent as ‘the largest pro-crypto caucus in history.’\n\nFairshake’s spending is tied to a narrow legislative agenda. The CLARITY Act would split oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, giving the CFTC authority over most spot crypto markets and clarifying how tokens and platforms are classified. The GENIUS Act, which set federal rules for payment stablecoins, became law last year.\n\nCLARITY passed the House in July 2025, cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May and was placed on the Senate calendar on June 1, but it has not been scheduled for a floor vote. Senate staff and lawmakers cite an unresolved dispute over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to pay yield and a crowded Senate schedule as obstacles to advancing the bill.\n\nFairshake’s stated strategy is to influence primary outcomes in safe districts so incoming lawmakers will be favorable to crypto policy and hold committee seats that oversee the SEC and CFTC. The PAC has also experienced losses: it spent more than $10 million opposing Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton in a Democratic Senate primary, and she won.\n\nWith weeks left before the summer recess, the CLARITY Act remains unresolved on the Senate calendar. Fairshake and its affiliates continue to deploy funds in primaries where they expect spending can affect the composition of the next Congress and, potentially, future votes on crypto market-structure legislation.