Sherrod Brown's Ohio edge threatens a rough go for crypto next year

The crypto industry has poured nearly $63 million into defeating former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio's upcoming Senate race, a massive sum aimed at preventing his return to Congress.

The industry's leading political action committee, Fairshake, is spending tens of millions to stop Brown, fearing he would regain a powerful role in Senate leadership and block digital asset legislation.

Polls show a tight race, and analysts warn the spending strategy risks alienating the Democratic Party just as it may regain control of the Senate.

Industry's Massive Spending

The crypto industry has never spent this much money to derail the political prospects of a single person: former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown.

Just one political action committee — the industry's leading Fairshake super PAC — is devoting almost $56 million to keeping Brown down.

With the $7.2 million that Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss kicked in from their own PAC to defeat Brown this year, that represents about a $63 million industry stake on Tuesday’s Ohio vote.

This figure is more than $100 million the sector has spent in the past two years against one congressional veteran in Ohio.

Why Brown Is a Target

The industry fears Brown's return to the Senate would revive his previous influence over key legislation.

For years, the former Senate Banking Committee chairman kept crypto bills from advancing, and some in the industry think it is worth spending vast sums to stop his comeback.

When he held the Senate Banking Committee gavel, Brown wasn't a very vocal critic of crypto when compared with fellow committee Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

However, on his current campaign trail, he started routinely decrying the crypto and data-center crowds once they began spending vast sums to influence Ohio voters.

If he returns to the Senate and Democrats control that chamber of Congress, the crypto sector's political analysts expect he'll be given a prominent role, possibly at the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

With Warren — one of the chamber's most vigorous critics of crypto — running her committee, and Brown hypothetically at his own prominent post with make-or-break say over crypto bills, the Senate could be a hostile spot for digital assets.

Strategic Criticism

The industry's campaign arm may be further assuring that a Brown victory would elevate a declared adversary into power, and it also further cements perceptions that the self-professed nonpartisan movement prefers Republicans.

In the other biggest general-election spend from Fairshake, it's committed almost $11 million to defend Republican Senator Pete Ricketts in Nebraska.

Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, called the strategy a "staggering strategic blunder."

In 2024, crypto executives were more explicit about their political feelings against Brown, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly labeling him "one of the most anti-crypto senators out there."

This time the executives aren't making such bold statements about politicians, but Coinbase, a16z and Ripple Labs have kept the Fairshake coffers full and are letting the super PACs do their talking.

Industry's Diverse Voices

One of the newer U.S. advocacy groups, the Digital Sovereignty Alliance, contended that the spending by Fairshake and other PACs doesn't necessarily represent the wider industry.

The group's managing director urged Senator Brown not to judge an entire industry by the ad budgets of a few.

Wall noted that Brown has said crypto has a role to play in the U.S. economy, and that's a "welcome perspective, and one we don't take for granted coming from one of the industry's most prominent critics."