Written by Turner Wright,Staff Writer
Reviewed by Robert Lakin,Staff EditorChainlink and Anchorage Digital back launch of crypto-aligned PAC
39 minutes agoAhead of the November midterm elections, backers are lining up behind a new hybrid political action committee that allows contributions directly to candidates.
Cointelegraph in your social feed
Subscribe on Join ourSeven months ahead of the November midterm elections, Chainlink Labs and Anchorage Digital announced that they were the founding contributors to a political action committee (PAC) “to support candidates working to advance digital asset and blockchain policy in the United States.”
In a Monday announcement, the two crypto companies said they were supporting the Blockchain Leadership Fund, a hybrid PAC that allows contributions directly to candidates as well as independent expenditures, such as media buys.
Neither company publicly disclosed how much they may have contributed to the PAC, and Federal Election Commission (FEC) records showed no funding between the Blockchain Leadership Fund’s creation in September and Dec. 31 — though Anchorage, with a $4.2 billion valuation, said today it would be using “corporate resources.”
The formation of the PAC, in addition to the contributions from the crypto companies and participation of members from advocacy organization The Digital Chamber, comes about seven months before US voters will determine on Nov. 3 which political party will have majority control of the House of Representatives and Senate. Both chambers are necessary to pass laws related to crypto and blockchain in the country — including the payment stablecoin bill GENIUS Act, approved in July, and the CLARITY Act, under consideration in the Senate.
Related: Coinbase-backed crypto advocacy group unveils 2026 election plan
It was unclear based on FEC filings where the PAC’s attention would go in a US election year crucial for control of both chambers of Congress, and Cointelegraph received no immediate response to its requests for information. However, a Chainlink spokesperson said that any candidates willing to support the CLARITY Act, the crypto market structure bill moving through the Senate, deserve “sustained, organized support from the industry.”
“2026 will be pivotal for crypto regulation,” said Anchorage in its announcement. “The choices we make now will shape the industry, and American financial leadership, for decades. That outcome will be determined by who invests in the process and who shows up when it matters.”
Anchorage co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley has reported meeting regularly with lawmakers to discuss the market structure bill, which continues to be stalled over concerns on stablecoin yield and other issues. The platform is just one of many crypto-tied companies that would likely benefit from the legislation being signed into law.
A 2024 redux for the 2026 midterm elections?
The last federal election in the United States in 2024 saw a reported 270 pro-crypto candidates winning seats in Congress along with Donald Trump winning the presidency. Crypto-backed PACs, including the Ripple- and Coinbase-funded Fairshake and its related groups, spent hundreds of millions of dollars in races across the country to support candidates they considered “pro-crypto.”
With many US state primaries already completed in 2026, crypto-aligned PACs have signaled through spending they plan to continue the same strategy they employed in the 2024 elections. Fairshake said in January that the PAC had accumulated a war chest of more than $192 million for this year’s races.
Magazine: Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF undercuts BlackRock, SBF pardon unlikely: Hodler’s Digest, Mar. 22 – 28
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy
