A16z backs crypto super PACs with $25M donation

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has donated $25 million to crypto-focused super political action committees (PAC), a16z crypto founder and managing partner Chris Dixon said Thursday.

A16z founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz in 2023 donated a combined $19 million to super PAC Fairshake under their own names. The pair gave an additional $1.5 million in 2023 to both associated super PACs Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress.

Dixon announced the latest donation on X Thursday, saying that the firm has now given $47 million in campaign contributions.

“As an industry, we need to keep up the momentum and show that the US can lead in creating the next wave of blockchain innovation,” Dixon said.

The announcement comes on the heels of Ripple, which on Wednesday said it would be donating $25 million to Fairshake. In December 2023, Ripple donated $20 million to the super PAC.

Crypto exchange Coinbase was Fairshake’s largest contributor in 2023, donating a total of $46.5 million under the company’s name, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

Many Fairshake-backed candidates have seen early success in this election cycle, with several advancing through primaries this spring.

Read more from our opinion section: The internet is broken. What if we can fix it?: On Chris Dixon’s ‘Read Write Own’

Between January 2023 and April 2024, Fairshake spent more than $11 million on federal election campaigns, most notably shelling out $10 million to oppose California Democrat Katie Porter’s bid for a US Senate seat. Porter lost in the March primary to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA, who will face Republican Steve Garvey in November.

Fairshake has also supported Congressional crypto advocates who are trying to keep their seats in November, including Reps. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.

Fairshake still has more than $52 million in cash on hand, not including the latest donations from Ripple and a16z, FEC filings show.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.