VC Firm A16z Pledges $23 Million to Fairshake for 2026 Midterms

(Bloomberg) — Even before the US presidential election results are in, Andreessen Horowitz has pledged more than $23 million to the political action committee Fairshake and its affiliates to support crypto-friendly candidates during the midterm elections in 2026. 
The donation by the venture capital firm known as a16z comes on the heels of Coinbase Global Inc. announcing a $25 million commitment to Fairshake for the next cycle of Congressional races last week. 
One of the most powerful PACs in Washington, Fairshake now has more than $30 million in the bank and $48 million in commitments for the next election cycle, the PAC said in a statement Monday. Funded by long-time supporters like Coinbase, a16z and Ripple, Fairshake has sought to push both Republican and Democratic candidates to take crypto seriously. It was poised to spend more than $40 million in the final weeks of the 2024 US elections after already deploying $140 million on dozens of Congressional races nationwide. 
“Many industries come to DC asking to roll back rules, and we have come to DC asking to establish them,” Chris Dixon, an a16z general partner, said Monday on the Menlo Park, California-based company’s blog. The firm has backed passage of comprehensive market structure legislation for digital assets, as well as stablecoin laws and a pathway to compliance for various crypto businesses. 
The crypto industry is asking for laws that they say will make it more favorable and easier for its companies to operate in the US. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has said that existing guidelines apply to crypto companies and is engaged in litigation with firms including Coinbase and Ripple. 
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