Another cryptocurrency-focused political action committee, the Defend Developers PAC, has joined the field of campaign finance operations that have put the industry on the political map in recent years.
The new entrant will not rival the sector’s leading super PAC, Fairshake, nor is it expected to jump up the ladder of mid-level committees that include the Tether-linked Fellowship PAC and the Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss-linked Digital Freedom Fund at Gemini. But he is approaching the political arena differently than others, by backing incumbent lawmakers who have already proven to be allies of his cause: the legal protection of cryptocurrency developers and creators of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.
“We plan to raise and contribute more than six figures in dozens of key races in the midterms, because cryptotechs deserve champions in Congress who will fight for them,” Gavin Zavatone, founder of the PAC, said in a statement Wednesday announcing the effort. Zavatone is also a policy lead at the DeFi Education Fund, a trade association that lobbies for DeFi-friendly policies.
Defend Developers, federally registered last month, is what’s known as a hybrid PAC, meaning it can make direct contributions to candidates who follow Federal Election Commission limits, as well as funnel unlimited corporate contributions toward independent ads. Most of the crypto sector’s high-profile political intervention has been through super PACs that have no monetary limits, although another new PAC, the Blockchain Leadership Fund established by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink, is also a hybrid.
“As a hybrid PAC, we are building the political infrastructure to ensure that the United States remains the best place in the world to freely build blockchain technology, and we are doing it the right way, powered by individual contributions raised directly from the founders, builders and CEOs who have the most at stake,” Zavatone said. The board of directors behind him includes members from Uniswap Labs, DEF, and Solana Policy Institute, although no dollar amount regarding his initial funding has yet been revealed.
Without the tens of millions deployed by Fairshake and its affiliates, a new crypto PAC is unlikely to make any big waves. Fairshake is scoring his latest victories in this week’s primary election, having endorsed nine Democratic U.S. House candidates in California, one in New Jersey and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds in South Dakota. They all won their primaries on Tuesday, maintaining a high record of victories for crypto-supporting politicians for whom Fairshake bought independent ads, although the PAC spent no more than $476,000 (for U.S. Rep. George Whitsides) in this week’s election.
Fairshake had spent $6.5 million on his successful effort to ensure that veteran House lawmaker and crypto critic Al Green lost to Christian Menefee in his Texas primary last week. However, the super PAC (one of the largest in American politics) has also suffered some failures, such as in Illinois.
November’s general election has high stakes, with the potential to shift the party’s majority to Democrats in at least one chamber of Congress.
Read more: Crypto industry’s massive political war chest is starting to tip Republicans ahead of midterm elections
