The cryptocurrency industry's political spending machine is making a serious push in Texas. Two PACs with deep ties to crypto firms have poured at least $8.3 million into advertising in the state's runoff races — backing Democrat Christian Menefee and Republican Ken Paxton in contests that could shift the balance of Congress come 2027.
The ad blitz in Texas
The biggest spender is Protect Progress, the super PAC affiliated with the Ripple- and Coinbase-backed Fairshake network. It dropped $5 million on ads supporting Menefee, a Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat, and another $2.8 million on ads attacking his Democratic primary opponent, Jarvis Green. One local commentator reported seeing 12 television commercials paid for by Protect Progress in a single day. Interestingly, the ads against Green focused on his opposition to President Donald Trump — there was no mention of crypto at all.
On the Republican side, the Fellowship PAC — backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital — reported $500,000 in expenditures supporting Ken Paxton in his Senate primary runoff against John Cornyn.
Where the money is going
Protect Progress' total of $7.8 million makes it the dominant crypto-linked spender in these races. The smaller Fellowship PAC is focused solely on Paxton. Meanwhile, the Blockchain Leadership Fund, backed by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs, has endorsed Menefee but hasn't reported any expenditures yet. That could change before election day.
The spending comes as the current Republican-led Congress has already passed crypto-friendly legislation, including the stablecoin GENIUS Act. The outcome of the Texas runoffs will help determine whether that momentum continues when the new session begins in 2027.
What the prediction markets say
Prediction platform Kalshi gives Ken Paxton a 96% chance of defeating John Cornyn and Christian Menefee a 91% chance of winning the Democratic primary. Polymarket showed similar odds for both candidates. Those numbers suggest the big ad buys are backing the heavy favorites — but in a runoff, anything can happen.
Crypto's political footprint
This isn't the first time crypto money has flooded a Texas election. But the scale here is notable: $8.3 million in two races, with one PAC running a dozen ads a day in a single media market. And the fact that Protect Progress' attack ads avoided any crypto language suggests the industry is comfortable playing general-election politics, not just pushing its own policy agenda.
The Blockchain Leadership Fund has yet to file its expenditure reports. With the runoff elections approaching, that silence could break — or Menefee might have to make do without another wave of crypto-backed ads.
