Ripple is evaluating whether to keep funding Fairshake, the crypto industry’s main super PAC, after co-founder Chris Larsen put $4 million behind Democrat Sherrod Brown’s Senate campaign in Ohio. Fairshake has said it plans to spend $30 million opposing Brown.
A Ripple spokesperson told Bloomberg that Larsen and Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse are reviewing the funding and that Garlinghouse will make the final decision.
Ripple has given Fairshake $93 million in total, including $48 million in the current election cycle, Bloomberg reported. That places it among the PAC’s largest backers, alongside Coinbase Global and Andreessen Horowitz.
A super PAC is a political committee that can raise and spend unlimited amounts to support or oppose candidates, as long as it does not coordinate directly with their campaigns. Fairshake declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Larsen Breaks With Fairshake Over Brown
Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder and chair, put $4 million behind Brown within days of Fairshake’s announcement that it would spend $30 million to defeat him, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg said this was the first time Larsen had publicly broken with the PAC, which Ripple funds heavily.
“It was a really poor decision,” Larsen told Bloomberg of Fairshake’s plan. He said he had spoken with Brown often and did not consider him opposed to crypto. He also said Fairshake was wrong to treat Brown the same way as progressive senators such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Brown is running in a special election for the Ohio seat now held by Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to replace JD Vance after Vance became vice president. Brown lost the seat in 2024. Fairshake spent about $40 million against him in that race.
Ripple’s Fairshake Funding
Fairshake reported $193 million in cash on hand in January, including a $25 million contribution from Ripple, according to Axios. Bloomberg reported that Ripple contributed $25 million to the PAC this year.
Ripple’s political spending has gone to both parties. The company gave $4.9 million to President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee last year, according to Bloomberg. Larsen personally gave $11.6 million in 2024 to a super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
What Garlinghouse Said
In a statement to Bloomberg, Garlinghouse said Ripple and the wider crypto industry should reassess how they engage in Washington. He said no decision had been made. He also said it would be inaccurate to describe Ripple as not currently supporting Fairshake.
Ripple did not say when it expects to decide. Ripple, which was valued at $40 billion in its 2025 funding round, has not announced any change to its political spending.
Larsen’s Wider Political Spending
Larsen has given at least $22.5 million directly to federal candidates and super PACs this election cycle, according to Bloomberg. He is worth $13.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
On artificial intelligence, Larsen gave more than $4.5 million in April to a new super PAC, You Can Push Back. It was set up to counter Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman. Leading the Future had announced plans to spend up to $10 million against Alex Bores, a candidate focused on AI safety, in New York’s 12th Congressional District. You Can Push Back spent nearly $3.4 million supporting Bores, who lost.
Larsen told Bloomberg he favors strong guardrails on AI rather than shutting the technology down. Bloomberg reported that in September he put $500,000 behind the congressional campaign of Manny Rutinel, a Colorado state lawmaker who helped pass a state AI safety bill.
On clean energy, Larsen has given $10 million, including $3.5 million this week, to the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC. He co-founded the PAC with clean energy executive Tom Matzzie and former Sierra Club head Michael Brune. Bloomberg reported that the PAC’s spending contributed to the primary defeats of six Republicans who had opposed renewable energy. The PAC has announced plans to spend $15 million opposing seven incumbent Republicans who voted to end Biden-era renewable energy incentives.
In California, Larsen has given at least $12 million to oppose the state’s proposed billionaire wealth tax, according to Bloomberg. He has also endorsed Governor Gavin Newsom for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
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