By Hannah Lang
June 30 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency companies have spent $189 million so far to influence the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, outpacing their spending for the previous election cycle, according to a new report from Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization.
More than one-third of all corporate money contributed to this year's November elections, and primary elections leading up to them, has come from the crypto industry, making it the top corporate political spender, the group said.
Crypto was also the top corporate donor in the 2024 election cycle, when it contributed $170 million and many of the congressional candidates it boosted won their races.
Companies in the artificial intelligence, big tech and online betting sectors have also contributed heavily. Combined with crypto, they have spent $294 million on the 2026 elections so far. In November, the full House of Representatives will be up for reelection, along with roughly a third of the Senate.
"The big takeaway is that corporate money is playing a bigger role than ever in our elections, and it's only expanding," said Rick Claypool, a research director at Public Citizen and the author of the report.
The organization tracked spending by political action committees, or PACs, which pool money from donors to contribute to candidates' campaigns or political causes.
The report said Andreessen Horowitz, a major venture capital firm investing in crypto, along with Ripple Labs, Crypto.com-affiliated Foris DAX and Coinbase, were the top four contributors to political action committees focused on advancing corporate policies.
The crypto industry won major public policy gains after its heavy spending in 2024, which ushered in a Congress ready to champion pro-crypto legislation that industry proponents said would put them on a more solid legal footing. Much of that cash came from super PACs, which can spend unlimited amounts of money, in a trend that looks likely to continue this year.
Fairshake, a major super PAC dedicated to supporting pro-crypto candidates, has received $82 million in donations this cycle, Public Citizen said.
The crypto industry's 2024 splurge paid off in part last year when Congress passed a law creating a federal framework for dollar-pegged crypto tokens known as stablecoins, which proponents say should help promote their broader adoption. That bill received bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.
The sector is pushing for additional measures, including legislation dubbed the Clarity Act that would create regulations for cryptocurrencies. Crypto companies say it is critical for the future of U.S. digital assets and necessary to fix core problems for crypto companies.
That bill has stalled in the Senate and it is unclear if it will pass before the elections, in which Democrats are expected to take control of the House of Representatives. If the Senate fails to pass the bill this year, it is unlikely to become law in the foreseeable future, analysts said. Many Democrats oppose it out of concern that it does not do enough to prevent politicians, including President Donald Trump, from profiting off of crypto ventures.
Trump, who courted crypto cash on the campaign trail and whose family has profited from its own token, has prioritized crypto reform during his second administration and the White House has been pushing hard for the bill, Reuters reported.
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Michelle Price and Edmund Klamann)
