Crypto industry-backed political action committees are embedding themselves more deeply in U.S. state contests, signaling a continued push to influence policy and the political landscape ahead of the 2026 midterms. In a string of Tuesday primaries, the Fairshake PAC and its affiliates rolled out a coordinated media and outreach effort backed by the kind of industry money long cited by proponents as essential to advancing crypto-friendly legislation.

The Fairshake operation, largely funded by Ripple Labs and Coinbase, poured a combined $20 million into supportive media across the Georgia, Kentucky, and Alabama races. The committees operate through vehicles such as Defend American Jobs, which backs Republican candidates, and Protect Progress, aimed at Democratic contenders deemed to be pro-crypto. The result, according to participants and public filings, was a notable showing for candidates aligned with crypto-friendly positions even as races remained tightly contested in several districts.

Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter framed Tuesday’s outcomes as a bipartisan signal, telling Cointelegraph that “Fairshake’s 6-0 sweep tonight was a clear victory for pro-crypto leaders across the country,” adding that the momentum translates into a broader nationwide mandate “from Georgia to Alabama to Kentucky.”

Key takeaways

• Massive media spend backing crypto-friendly candidates. Fairshake and affiliates reported about $20 million in media support to shape outcomes in Georgia, Kentucky, and Alabama races, with major contributions from Ripple and Coinbase.
• Georgia and Kentucky see targeted spending on specific races. In Georgia, Protect Progress spent over $4.2 million to back Jasmine Clark in the 13th District; Defend American Jobs backed multiple GOP contenders, including $7.2 million for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate race and hundreds of thousands for several Georgia districts.
• Alabama’s Senate contest moves to a runoff; crypto-aligned money remains in play. Barry Moore secured support totaling about $7.4 million from Defend American Jobs, with the primary producing a runoff against Steve Marshall and Jared Hudson.
• Texas becomes a litmus test for crypto-influenced campaigns in a swing district. Protect Progress spent over $4.1 million to back Christian Menefee in Texas’ 18th District and more than $2.8 million opposing Al Green, who has opposed crypto-friendly legislation; a runoff has been triggered.
• Funding scale and historical context matter for policy risk. Crypto PACs have built a substantial war chest—Protect Progress once projected a multi-year spend plan and a larger war chest than in 2024—but past campaigns show money alone doesn’t always sway outcomes, as illustrated by Illinois’ 2024 experience where anti-crypto messaging did not prevent an incumbent’s victory.

Crypto money, candidates and the policy horizon

Tuesday’s results reflect a sustained strategy: deploy substantial media buys and targeted messaging to tilt local races in favor of candidates perceived as friendlier to crypto interests. The FEC filings cited by Cointelegraph show Protect Progress’ substantial expenditures in Georgia’s 13th District, where Jasmine Clark was the beneficiary of more than $4.2 million in campaign media support. In the same state, Defend American Jobs earmarked hundreds of thousands of dollars for other GOP candidates who are generally viewed as supportive of cryptocurrency industry positions.

In Kentucky, a push to bolster incumbents perceived as crypto-friendly translated into a sizeable corporate-financed effort for the U.S. Senate race, with about $7.2 million directed toward that contest. Alabama’s primary race for the U.S. Senate also emerged as a focal point of crypto-funded campaigning, with Barry Moore receiving about $7.4 million in backing from Defend American Jobs, setting the stage for a runoff against rival contenders when no candidate achieved a majority.

These dynamics matter for investors and builders who watch the policy environment closely. While this wave of spending demonstrates the industry’s willingness to align resources with electoral outcomes, it also underscores a broader challenge: the effectiveness of PAC-driven media campaigns in translating dollars into durable political influence remains uneven. Past episodes, including Fairshake’s experience in Illinois, where a sizeable outlay failed to derail an incumbent, illustrate that money can shape discourse and visibility, but not always final votes.

Texas test: Menefee vs. Green as a crypto-litmus district

The Texas 18th District race provided another important test case for crypto-aligned political activity. Protect Progress’ filings show more than $4.1 million spent to back Democrat Christian Menefee, who faces incumbent Al Green in a district with a history of moderate to liberal leanings. In parallel, the PAC reported more than $2.8 million spent to oppose Green, highlighting a bifurcated approach: build support for a crypto-friendly voice while actively challenging a candidate whose record includes opposition to certain crypto policies.

Green’s voting history on payment tokens and digital asset legislation has been cited by crypto advocates as a cautionary tale about anti-crypto sentiment in Congress. The campaign spotlight on the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act underscores the ongoing legislative battle over how digital assets are regulated, taxed, and integrated into the broader financial system. Tuesday’s fundraising and messaging dynamics will feed into how crypto advocates calibrate their strategy in Texas and beyond as other districts prepare for subsequent primaries and runoff elections.

Protect Progress’ plan, as outlined in prior coverage, is to press pro-crypto candidates while opposing anti-crypto lawmakers in the run-up to 2026. The group’s growing financial firepower—reflected in a war chest Reuters and industry observers have described as substantial—suggests that crypto firms intend to maintain a steady political cadence, even as electoral outcomes prove uneven across states.

A broader arc: money, influence and policy uncertainty

The breadth of crypto-pac activity in these primaries signals a continuing bet that policy changes could accompany or follow a reshaping of the political landscape in the 2026 cycle. It also raises questions about how much influence well-funded media campaigns can wield in state races where local issues, candidate quality, and party alignment often drive outcomes. For investors, this translates into a clearer sense of where the industry plans to lean on policy advocates—maintaining pressure on lawmakers who favor crypto-friendly rules while seeking to minimize the chances of bills perceived as punitive or restrictive.

Analysts will be watching how the crypto-aligned committees adapt to the next round of primaries and general elections. The pace of spending, the allocation across media, and the willingness to fund both Republican and Democratic candidates point to a strategic approach: partner with a broad spectrum of lawmakers and brands while staying ready to pivot as districts change hands or as regulatory proposals gain or lose steam in statehouses and Congress alike.

As Tuesday’s results settle, readers should monitor the ensuing runoffs and the feedback from candidate platforms on issues such as stablecoins, crypto taxation, and digital-asset market structure. The lessons from this cycle may help shape both campaign tactics and policy debates as the industry weighs its bets for 2026 and beyond.

What remains uncertain is how much these campaigns will influence actual policy outcomes, given the complexity of crypto regulation and the diversity of state legislative priorities. Still, with a broad coalition of donors, industry spokespeople, and media proponents actively shaping the narrative, the sector appears prepared to keep pressing its agenda through the next wave of elections.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a revised crypto tax bill Wednesday that aims to update the tax code to better address crypto use cases and would, if signed into law, direct the IRS to analyze the effect de minimis exemptions might have.

Congressmen Steven Horsford (D-N.V.), Max Miller (R-Ohio), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) and Mike Carey (R-Ohio) reintroduced the Digital Asset Protection, Accountability, Regulation, Innovation, Taxation and Yields Act, otherwise known as the Parity Act, that Horsford and Miller had previously pushed a few times. The new language comes a week after lawmakers reportedly met to discuss crypto tax reform.

The new version of the bill calls for “regulated payment stablecoins” to incur no gain or loss unless the cost basis is less than 99% of the redemption value of the stablecoin, and it also creates a safe harbor for trading through brokers or in taxpayer accounts, defines how so-called “wash sale” rules might apply to digital assets and addresses how digital assets earned by acting as a validator.

The bill also directs the IRS to review what sort of tax burden crypto holders face when it comes to “small digital asset transactions” and how many transactions worth less than $200 are captured under existing law. This review should include the IRS’ needs if there was a de minimis exemption — meaning a carveout for activity that the law should consider too small to be concerned with — for crypto transactions, as well as whether and how such an exemption might be abused.

The crypto industry has long argued that freeing taxpayers of the burden of having to file and report taxes on small transactions would make it easier to use crypto as a payments tool for small items like a cup of coffee.

The bill is meant to just be a first step toward broader crypto tax reform, Horsford said at CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami conference earlier this month.

“I actually think tax is the foundation. Why? Because it’s tax policy that will determine number one, how these digital assets can be used in our finance system. And at a time when our federal tax code is outdated, it does not take into account the modernization of digital assets,” he said.

“For example, none of the current regulatory policy framework tells a consumer, an institution, or a builder what happens to their taxes when they sell a digital asset, earned staking reward, lend crypto on the U.S. platform or make a charitable contribution in bitcoin,” the lawmaker said “Those are tax questions. And they remain entirely unresolved.”

Securitize reported record quarterly revenue as the tokenization platform continued advancing toward an eventual public listing through its proposed SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT), underscoring growing institutional demand for tokenized real-world assets despite ongoing profitability pressures.

The Miami-based company said first-quarter revenue rose 39% year over year to $19.5 million, the highest quarterly revenue in its history, according to results released Wednesday.

Asset servicing revenue surged 201% to $8.3 million, reflecting the continued expansion of Securitize Fund Services, which serviced 650 active funds as of March 31. Tokenization revenue totaled $11.1 million, compared with $11 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

The company ended the quarter with $3.4 billion in tokenized assets under management, $24.9 billion in assets under administration and $1.9 billion in aggregated transaction volume.

Despite top-line growth, Securitize remained unprofitable as it increased spending on expansion efforts and preparations for becoming a publicly traded company. Net loss widened to $7.9 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, while adjusted EBITDA fell to $800,000 from $4.1 million in the prior-year period.

Chief Financial Officer Francisco Flores said the company continued investing in headcount and infrastructure to support long-term growth and its public-market transition, while maintaining what he described as disciplined expense management.

Securitize has agreed to merge with Cantor Equity Partners II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that would position it as one of the few publicly traded companies focused primarily on tokenized securities and real-world assets. Shares of CEPT rose 5% on Wednesday.

Key takeaways

• PI has reclaimed the $0.1500 level after dropping below this critical area on Tuesday.
• The positive performance comes following the mainnet upgrade. 

Pi Network has reversed its downward trend on Wednesday, climbing above the $0.1500 level following a major infrastructure upgrade to its mainnet nodes. 

At press time, PI traded around $0.1518, extending recent losses while technical indicators hinted at the possibility of a short-term rebound.

Pi Core team completes major mainnet upgrade

The Pi Core Team announced that major mainnet nodes have successfully upgraded to Stellar protocol version 23, reflecting the project’s reliance on the Stellar blockchain infrastructure.

The update also included several backend improvements, such as migrating the operating system from Ubuntu 20 to Ubuntu 24 and upgrading the database engine from PostgreSQL 12 to PostgreSQL 16.

The latest upgrade is aimed at improving network performance, security, and long-term scalability as the ecosystem continues to evolve.

PI price outlook: Technical indicators suggest a possible recovery

The PI/USD 4-hour chart is still bearish and efficient as PI has underperformed over the past few days.

The bearish performance comes despite the infrastructure progress. The token is currently trading below both the 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near $0.1605 and the 200-period EMA around $0.1709, maintaining a broader bearish outlook.

However, momentum indicators suggest selling pressure may be weakening. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped to near 29, signaling oversold conditions while also forming a positive divergence as price approaches Tuesday’s low of $0.1463.

This type of divergence often points to a potential reversal or short-term bounce. If buying momentum increases, PI could attempt to retest a descending trendline resistance near $0.1519.

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator remains flat below the zero line, indicating fading bearish momentum but not yet confirming a bullish recovery.

A successful breakout above the $0.1519 resistance level could open the door for a stronger recovery toward the 50-EMA at $0.1605, followed by the 200-EMA near $0.1709.

On the downside, the recent low at $0.1463 remains a critical support zone. A daily close below that level could invalidate rebound expectations and potentially trigger additional downside pressure for Pi Network.

Key takeaways

• BTC remains around the $77k level after rejecting the 200-day moving average.
• The bearish performance comes as rising inflation and Treasury yields weigh on risk sentiment.

Bitcoin slipped below $77,000 earlier on Wednesday after failing to break above the 200-day moving average near $82,000, as rising inflation and tighter macroeconomic conditions weighed heavily on risk assets.

The decline comes after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data showed Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth accelerating to 3.8% year-over-year. At the same time, rising oil prices and a surge in the 10-year Treasury yield have reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets increasingly pricing in the possibility of a rate hike by December.

Bears continue to dominate the market

According to a report from K33 Research, Bitcoin’s rejection at the 200-day moving average mirrors patterns seen during previous market cycles in 2014, 2018, and 2022, when rapid rebounds were followed by sharp deleveraging-driven sell-offs.

K33 noted that those historical recoveries rebuilt trader confidence and leverage quickly, leaving markets vulnerable to aggressive corrections once momentum faded.

“A core ingredient in the ensuing legs lower was the unwind of positions built up during the rally itself,” the report stated.

However, analysts emphasized that the current cycle differs in several important ways. Bitcoin took significantly longer to revisit the 200-day moving average after breaking below it, spending 189 days before retesting the level in May. That compares with 96 days in 2014, 132 days in 2018, and 85 days in 2022.

Derivatives data suggest traders remain cautious rather than excessively bullish. Funding rates have stayed negative for 81 consecutive days, while options market skews are hovering near yearly highs, indicating persistent defensive positioning.

Institutional flows have presented a mixed picture. Global Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded their largest weekly outflow of the year last week, totaling 24,303 BTC. The figure marked the ninth-largest five-day outflow since the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.

K33 noted that selling pressure intensified as Bitcoin approached the average ETF cost basis, a level that has historically triggered elevated outflows.

Bitcoin technical outlook: BTC consolidates around $77,000

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is hovering near $77200, slightly above the 50-day EMA at $76,743 and the 100-day EMA at $76,867. 

However, the broader trend remains constrained by the 200-day EMA at $81,845, which continues to act as a strong overhead resistance level.

This positioning suggests that while short-term buyers are attempting to stabilize price action, longer-term trend signals have yet to confirm a bullish reversal.

Technical indicators point to declining bullish momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is drifting toward the mid-40s, indicating weakening buying pressure without yet reaching oversold conditions.

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains firmly in negative territory, reinforcing the view that recent upward moves have lost strength following the prior rally attempt.

If the rally resumes, immediate resistance is located at the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent rally around $78,962. A breakout above this zone would be needed to challenge higher levels.

However, if the selloff continues, initial support is anchored by the 50-day EMA at $76,743. A break below this level could expose Bitcoin to further losses toward the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement at $74,487.

Deeper support lies near the reclaimed trendline around $70,785, with the 23.6% retracement level at $68,950 acting as a final key cushion for the current structure.