Michigan’s Republican nominee for Senate, Mike Rogers, says he’s supported crypto for years, stretching back to the heyday of Silk Road. He’s eagerly engaged with industry watchdogs like Stand With Crypto, and even attended blockchain conferences in person.
And yet, when Fairshake, the colossal pro-crypto super PAC, weighed in on Michigan’s senate race weeks ago, it opted not to support Rogers, but rather his opponent: a Democrat, Elissa Slotkin, who as recently as April held an “F” rating on Stand With Crypto’s website.
“There is nobody more confused than me,” Rogers told Decrypt of Fairshake’s decision to back his adversary with a $3 million ad buy. “I guess the price to go from an ‘F’ to an ‘A’ is $3 million.”
Fairshake, which is funded primarily by crypto heavyweights Coinbase, Ripple, and VC firm Andreesen Horowitz, is handily the biggest special interest force in the 2024 election, with more than $276 million raised this cycle.
Coinbase-Linked Crypto Advocacy Group Endorses Senate Candidates—But Skips Controversial Races
Stand With Crypto, the pro-industry political watchdog initially launched by Coinbase, released a slate of political endorsements on Friday for the upcoming 2024 election—but avoided backing any candidates in a handful of increasingly controversial Senate races that have drawn scrutiny from corners of the industry. The organization threw its support behind 39 House and Senate candidates—an almost perfect split of 20 Republicans and 19 Democrats. Notably, it endorsed crypto attorney John Deaton,...
Much speculation has swirled since the PAC opted to throw its weight behind multiple Democrats in key battleground states with limited crypto credentials—who, in several cases similar to Michigan’s Senate race, are facing off against emphatically pro-industry Republicans like Rogers.
But it appears increasingly clear that the companies at the heart of crypto’s political push are hesitant to align too closely with Republicans, no matter how eager Republicans are to align with them.
When Stand With Crypto—which was launched by Coinbase—announced its first slate of political endorsements on Friday, it carefully chose a near-even split of 20 Republican candidates and 19 Democrats. The organization refrained from endorsing either candidate in Michigan’s Senate rate, which could determine control of Congress.
“What we kept hearing was: ‘They needed a Democrat, they needed a Democrat, they needed a Democrat,’” Rogers said of Fairshake’s decision to back Slotkin.
Kamala Harris Vows to Keep US ‘Dominant in Blockchain’
Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday during a speech at The Economic Club of Pittsburgh that blockchain, AI, and other emerging technologies will be a key part of her administration if elected president in November. "We will invest in biomanufacturing and aerospace, remain dominant in AI and quantum computing, blockchain and other emerging technologies, [and] expand our lead in clean energy innovation and manufacturing," she said, "so the next generation of breakthroughs—from advanced bat...
Fairshake declined to comment for this story. An industry insider familiar with the situation, though, told Decrypt that Slotkin's willingness in May to split with her party and President Joe Biden on two key crypto-related votes is what put her over the edge. The source elaborated that while Rogers, a former congressman and FBI agent, may be pro-crypto, he has never voted on the issue, nor has he demonstrated a willingness to cross party lines because of it.
"That's how you build a long-term, sustainable, bipartisan coalition behind crypto and blockchain," the source, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said of Fairshake's choice to back Slotkin.
Rogers says the industry PAC’s choice to throw millions of dollars behind Democrats like Slotkin makes no sense to him and is “not very strategic.”
“I think I would have gone with the guy who’s been there the whole time—and who, by the way, has a law enforcement background that could be very useful when all of the debates happen about how bad crypto can be for criminals and all of that nonsense,” he said.
Stalled Crypto Bill FIT21 Could Become Law by Christmas, Says Rep. Tom Emmer
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) is optimistic that support for crypto legislation has reached a critical mass in the United States—and even believes that FIT21, a stalled crypto market structure bill, could become law before the holidays. “I think that bill—at the end of the year, if there’s an end of the year spending bill—maybe some parts of that bill end up in the final deal,” Emmer told Decrypt of FIT21 during an interview Monday at the Messari Mainnet conference in New York. FIT21 wo...
The Senate candidate attributes Democrats’ change in tune on crypto wholly to the recent emergence of massive industry super PACs like Fairshake. They’re just following the money, Rogers says—and that isn’t sustainable, especially if Democrats win Congress.
“That's just an awful, terrible way to make policy,” he said. “I think you'll get a slow roll with [Democrats] at the very best. And I think at the very least, you'll have folks who are chairs of important committees who aren't for crypto.”
But Rogers says he isn’t bitter—he will continue to support the industry, even if its biggest players supplied millions of dollars to thwart him. On Monday, five weeks out from Election Day, the candidate took time off the busy campaign trail to fly to New York, where he appeared on a panel at Messari’s annual Mainnet crypto conference.
The conference was a welcome opportunity to discuss crypto’s future—a topic Rogers says voters rarely ask about back home in Michigan.
“It doesn't come up a lot,” Rogers said of crypto.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
