The Blockchain Leadership Fund, a new bipartisan hybrid political action committee backed by the cryptocurrency industry, announced its first slate of candidate endorsements for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections on Thursday, spreading its support across both Republican and Democratic candidates in several closely watched Senate and House races.
The news was first reported by Eleanor Terrett of Crypto In America.
The PAC was established in March by crypto firms Anchorage Digital and Chainlink. According to the group, the inaugural endorsements will take the form of direct campaign donations and are aimed at supporting candidates who are focused on keeping digital asset innovation in the United States and pushing for clearer regulatory frameworks for the industry.
The announcement comes at a time when crypto policy efforts are accelerating in Washington, with the CLARITY Act currently working its way through the Senate and the broader digital asset regulatory landscape undergoing a significant transformation under the current administration.
Senate endorsements span key open seats and a high-profile special election
On the Senate side, the Blockchain Leadership Fund is backing Barry Moore (R-AL), who is running to fill the seat being vacated by Senator Tommy Tuberville as he campaigns for governor of Alabama.
The PAC is also supporting Kurt Alme (R-MT), who is seeking the Montana Senate seat being vacated by Senator Steve Daines after Daines announced in March that he would not seek re-election.
The group is additionally backing Jon Husted (R-OH) in Ohio’s special election. Husted is running against former Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, who lost his seat in 2024 to Bernie Moreno. That 2024 race was one of the most high-profile examples of the crypto industry’s growing political clout, with industry-backed super PAC Fairshake spending roughly $40 million to help unseat Brown.
On the Democratic side, the PAC is endorsing Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN), who is currently engaged in a competitive Democratic primary for Minnesota’s open Senate seat being vacated by Senator Tina Smith.
House races see support for both Republican and Democratic candidates
The Blockchain Leadership Fund’s House endorsements are similarly bipartisan.
For Republicans, the PAC is backing Houston Gaines, a Georgia state lawmaker running for the state’s open 10th Congressional District seat. It is also supporting Jim Kingston, the son of former Congressman Jack Kingston, who is running for Georgia’s open 1st Congressional District seat. Additionally, the group is endorsing Jon Bonck, a Trump-endorsed Republican running for Texas’ open 38th Congressional District seat.
On the Democratic side, the PAC is throwing its weight behind Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state lawmaker running for Congress in the state’s 5th Congressional District. It is also backing Christian Menefee, the Texas Democrat who won a 2026 special election to succeed the late Sylvester Turner and is now running for a full term. North Carolina Congressman Don Davis, who is seeking re-election in the state’s 1st Congressional District, is also on the list.
The PAC said it plans to continue evaluating candidates throughout the election cycle and will announce additional support for leaders at the federal, state and local levels who back what it describes as responsible digital asset policy.
The Blockchain Leadership Fund’s entry into the midterm picture adds to an already well-funded digital asset lobbying environment. Fairshake, the crypto industry’s largest super PAC, reported holding roughly $193 million in cash heading into the 2026 cycle after spending over $130 million backing pro-crypto candidates during the 2024 elections.
Hester Peirce to leave SEC, join Regent University Law School as Associate Professor
In a separate but equally significant development reported by Eleanor Terrett, SEC Commissioner and Crypto Task Force chief Hester Peirce has revealed her next career move.
Starting in November, Peirce will join Virginia’s Regent University School of Law as an Associate Professor, where she will help expand the school’s academic work in areas including securities regulation, financial markets and digital assets.
“I am looking forward to my next chapter as a professor but, until I leave the Commission, my focus is on the work of the SEC, including the work of the Crypto Task Force,” Peirce told Crypto In America.
Peirce was first appointed to the Commission by President Trump in 2018 and has been one of the most vocal advocates for clearer regulatory guidelines for the crypto industry throughout her time at the agency. She frequently criticized the Biden-era SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to digital assets, a stance that earned her the widely known nickname “Crypto Mom.”
That advocacy later helped secure her role as head of the Crypto Task Force, an initiative created at the start of President Trump’s second term to develop clearer market rules for crypto companies around trading, custody, token sales and decentralized finance.
Crypto task force legacy and the search for a successor
Since its launch, the Crypto Task Force has held hundreds of meetings with industry participants, hosted a series of public roundtables and worked with SEC staff to issue guidance aimed at clarifying how existing securities laws apply to digital assets. That work has covered custody, token issuance, disclosure obligations and the treatment of certain crypto activities under federal securities laws.
Industry leaders were quick to acknowledge Peirce’s contributions. Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, posted on X that “few have done more for our industry” than Peirce, calling her “thoughtful, substantive, and passionate” and crediting her with helping “ensure a new season for crypto innovation in the U.S.”
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig also praised Peirce on X, writing that during “the years of debanking, regulation by enforcement, and prosecution of software developers under the prior administration,” Peirce “gave innovators, builders, and entrepreneurs hope for a better future in America” through “dozens of thoughtful and articulate dissents and speeches.” Selig added that “America would not be the crypto capital of the world today if not for her leadership.”
With Peirce set to begin her new role in six months, the White House may soon begin ramping up its search for her replacement. One name that has surfaced in recent months is Ammon Simon, Peirce’s former advisor at the SEC, who now serves as Chief Counsel on the Senate Banking Committee and has already interviewed with Chairman Paul Atkins about the position, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Crypto In America.
Other reports from Politico Pro suggest at least two additional names are also under consideration, though the status of those discussions remains unclear.
Since the start of his presidency, Trump has not nominated any new commissioners to either of the two market regulators. The SEC is currently operating with just three of its five commissioner seats filled, while the CFTC is down to a single sitting commissioner in Chairman Selig.
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