Coinbase-Linked Crypto Advocacy Group Endorses Senate Candidates—But Skips Controversial Races

Stand With Crypto, the pro-industry political watchdog initially launched by Coinbase, released a slate of political endorsements on Friday for the upcoming 2024 election—but avoided backing any candidates in a handful of increasingly controversial Senate races that have drawn scrutiny from corners of the industry.

The organization threw its support behind 39 House and Senate candidates—an almost perfect split of 20 Republicans and 19 Democrats. Notably, it endorsed crypto attorney John Deaton, the Republican candidate for Senate in Massachusetts, who is running against prominent industry critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. 

Perhaps the most remarkable elements of Stand With Crypto’s endorsements today, however, were the omissions. In Michigan, Arizona, and Ohio, the organization declined to pick a side in three key battleground Senate races that not only may end up determining control of Congress’ upper chamber—but have also all prominently featured crypto as a campaign issue.

Those same races caused a stir earlier this summer when Fairshake—a gargantuan $202 million pro-industry super PAC, also backed by Coinbase—opted to throw millions behind Democratic Senate candidates in Michigan and Arizona, despite their opponents espousing ardently pro-crypto views.

In Michigan, for example, Fairshake committed $3 million to supporting Democrat Elissa Slotkin, despite the fact that Slotkin appeared skeptical about the industry before changing her tune and crossing party lines to vote to overturn an anti-crypto U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule earlier this summer. 

Slotkin’s opponent, Mike Rogers, has eagerly embraced the industry, courting its leaders at various crypto conferences and engaging with organizations like Stand With Crypto directly.

When pressed after disgruntled Republicans bemoaned Fairshake’s donations to these Democrats, the PAC’s leadership pointed to their chosen candidates’ ratings on Stand With Crypto’s website as justification for the endorsements.

Stand With Crypto did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s requests for comment as to why the organization stopped short of endorsing candidates in those three key races, and whether it plans to announce any further endorsements before election day. Fairshake also did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment on this story. 

Stand With Crypto came under further scrutiny earlier this week, after it gave Kamala Harris a “B” rating for the Democratic presidential nominee’s first-ever recorded comments on digital assets. While the rating was lower than former president Donald Trump’s “A,” Trump has vigorously courted the industry for months, whereas Harris has only said two sentences on the subject in her entire political career.

The group withdrew the rating following the uproar, changing her rating to "N/A" or "Not enough information." Executive Director Logan Dobson tweeted that that it will "now be more difficult for candidates to receive a scorecard grade—any grade, positive or negative."

Edited by Andrew Hayward