Another crypto-focused political action committee, the Defend Developers PAC, has joined the field of campaign finance operations that have in recent years put the industry on the political map.
The newcomer won’t compete with the industry-leading super PAC, Fairshake, nor is it expected to reach the scale 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 approaches the political field differently from others, supporting sitting legislators who have already proven themselves allies of his cause: the legal protection of crypto developers and creators of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.
“We plan to raise and contribute more than six figures across dozens of key midterm races because crypto technologists deserve champions in Congress who will defend them,” Gavin Zavatone, the PAC’s founder, said in a statement Wednesday announcing the effort. Zavatone is also the policy lead for the DeFi Education Fund, a trade association that pushes for DeFi-friendly policymaking.
Defend Developers — federally registered last month — is what’s called a hybrid PAC, meaning it can make direct contributions to candidates who meet Federal Election Commission limits as well as funnel unlimited corporate contributions to independent ads. Most of the crypto industry’s high-level political intervention has been through super PACs that have no monetary limits, although another new PAC, the Blockchain Leadership Fund created by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink, is also a hybrid.
“As a hybrid PAC, we are building the policy 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, through individual contributions collected directly from the founders, builders and CEOs who have the most at stake,” Zavatone said. The board behind it includes members from Uniswap Labs, DEF, and the Solana Policy Institute, although no dollar amount has yet been disclosed regarding its initial funding.
Without the tens of millions deployed by Fairshake and its affiliates, a new crypto PAC likely won’t make major waves. Fairshake scores his latest primary election victories this week, having supported nine Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in California, one in New Jersey and Republican Sen. Mike Rounds in South Dakota. All won their primaries on Tuesday, maintaining a high winning record for pro-crypto politicians for whom Fairshake bought independent ads, although the PAC spent no more than $476,000 (for U.S. Rep. George Whitsides) on this week’s races.
Fairshake spent $6.5 million in its successful effort to ensure that veteran House lawmaker and crypto critic Al Green lost to Christian Menefee in their Texas primary last week. However, the super PAC – one of the largest in American politics – has also had some misfires, such as in Illinois.
The November general election carries extremely high stakes, with the possibility of shifting the party majority to Democrats in at least one chamber of Congress.
Read more: The crypto industry’s massive political war chest is starting to lean Republican ahead of the midterm elections.
