Coinbase has donated $25M to crypto super-PAC Fairshake; Ripple has given $20M

Coinbase and Ripple are among the largest donors to a super PAC that aims to support pro-crypto politicians, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 31.

Coinbase has contributed $24.5 million to Fairshake, PAC spokesperson Josh Vlasto told Bloomberg. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has also personally given $1 million to the PAC. Those donations make up about one-third of the $85 million that Fairshake has raised to date, according to the report.

Vlasto additionally told Bloomberg today that Ripple has donated $20 million to Fairshake. Two VC firms — Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Electric Capital — have donated $20 million and $500,000 respectively.

Bloomberg said that more information about Fairshakes donors will be revealed in an upcoming filing with the U.S. Federal Election Commission.

Firms have not confirmed donation amounts

Though none of the above companies have confirmed their donation amounts publicly, Coinbase acknowledged that both it and Armstrong had contributed to Fairshake in a blog post published in December.

Coinbase said that Fairshake had raised just $78 million at the time. It added that Circle, Kraken, Ark Invest, and Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were among the super-PACs numerous other donors.

Bloomberg also obtained a comment from Collin McCune, head of government affairs at Andreessen Horowitz today. McCune said that supporting bipartisan candidates with long views is an “important part of ensuring that clear rules of the road are developed for blockchain technology and digital assets.” The representative did not confirm the reported donation amount, however.

Fairshake supports both major parties

Fairshake supports pro-cryptocurrency political candidates on both sides of the political aisle but has slightly favored Democratic candidates so far.

Current data from OpenSecrets indicates that Fairshake has spent $700,000 on 13 Democratic candidates and $551,000 on eight Republican candidates.

Bloomberg noted that Fairshakes largest spending to date has gone toward Republican Representative Patrick McHenry, a lawmaker extensively involved in crypto legislation who is set to retire in January 2025. Other funding has notably gone toward Republican Representative Tom Emmer and Democratic Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Ritchie Torres.