Crypto Industry Emerges as Major Force in American Politics, House Committee Addresses Tokenization Policy

The crypto industry has become a major political force in the U.S., spending over $139 million in the 2024 elections and amassing a $220 million war chest for 2026. This spending, a reaction to aggressive SEC enforcement after FTX's collapse, has yielded significant policy shifts, including dropped lawsuits against major firms and the passage of the GENIUS Act for stablecoins, while raising concerns of regulatory capture.

Crypto industry political spending

• ▪The committee is examining whether new legislation is needed for tokenization or if policymaking can remain at the regulator level
• ▪The crypto industry spent approximately $139 million through super PACs to influence the 2024 U.S. elections
• ▪Rep. French Hill stated that tokenizing an asset like a common stock is an exercise in changing systems, not changing the underlying law
• ▪The House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. French Hill, has made tokenization its next major policy focus
• ▪The crypto industry has assembled a war chest exceeding $220 million for the 2026 midterm elections
• ▪The GENIUS Act, which created the first federal framework for stablecoins, was signed into law in July 2025

SEC enforcement actions post-FTX

• ▪The SEC pursued landmark cases against companies including Coinbase, Binance, and Ripple, treating most digital assets as unregistered securities
• ▪Following the 2022 collapse of FTX, the SEC under Gary Gensler pursued an aggressive enforcement campaign against the crypto industry
• ▪The SEC issued 46 crypto-related enforcement actions in 2023 alone

Fairshake PAC election strategy

• ▪In the 2024 elections, approximately 85% of the candidates supported by the Fairshake network won their races
• ▪Fairshake operates across party lines, using affiliates Defend American Jobs for Republicans and Protect Progress for Democrats
• ▪Fairshake is a super PAC backed by companies including Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and Ripple

SEC policy reversals

• ▪Ripple's multi-year SEC lawsuit ended with a $125 million court penalty, not a $50 million settlement
• ▪The SEC removed all mentions of cryptocurrency from its 2026 examination priorities
• ▪In early 2025, the SEC dismissed its civil action against Coinbase and dropped its lawsuit against Binance
• ▪The SEC closed its investigation into Robinhood's crypto business without filing any charges

Texas primary election spending

• ▪The Tether-backed Fellowship PAC spent $1.75 million to support Ken Paxton's successful Senate runoff campaign against incumbent John Cornyn
• ▪Rep. Al Green was targeted by a crypto PAC after he voted against the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act
• ▪A Fairshake affiliate spent nearly $8 million in a Texas congressional runoff to support challenger Christian Menefee and oppose incumbent Al Green

Regulatory capture concerns

• ▪Representatives Maxine Waters and Brad Sherman documented at least 12 crypto-related cases that the SEC dismissed or closed since early 2024