Crypto PAC spending hidden as hackers target FEC filing system
The US Federal Election Commission reported an outage on Tuesday, preventing super political action committees from disclosing last-minute expenditures before the 2026 midterm elections.
Key takeaways
- 1FEC filing system went offline on Tuesday following a reported hack.
- 2PACs must report expenditures of $1,000 or more within 24 hours before an election.
- 3Digital Freedom Fund spent $572,000 on text messages for GOP candidates before the outage.
- 4Fairshake has spent $56 million on the Ohio Senate race in the 2026 cycle.
- 5The outage prevents the public from seeing last-minute crypto industry spending.
The US Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing system went offline on Tuesday after a reported cyberattack, according to Reuters. The disruption occurred six days before the 2026 midterm elections, a period when political action committees (PACs) must disclose large expenditures within 24 hours. The FEC confirmed it was experiencing an electronic filing system outage but did not initially provide a cause for the failure.
Super PACs like Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and the Digital Freedom Fund use these filings to report spending of $1,000 or more. Candidates for the House and Senate are also required to report contributions of $1,000 or more within 48 hours during the final 20 days of a campaign. Because of the outage, the public cannot see if these groups have deployed new capital since Sunday.
Cointelegraph reported that filings for the largest industry groups showed no new activity as of Tuesday evening. Before the system failed, the Digital Freedom Fund disclosed spending more than $572,000 on text messages for Republican Senate candidates. This included support for Ken Paxton in Texas. Protect Progress reported a $50,000 mail campaign for Representative Aisha Wahab in California.
The crypto industry has spent heavily in the 2026 cycle after a market structure bill failed to pass the Senate in September. The Block reported that the sector is preparing for a shift in congressional oversight depending on the election results. PACs are targeting races that could change the leadership of committees that oversee the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Much of the industry focus remains on Ohio, where former Senator Sherrod Brown is challenging incumbent Jon Husted. Fairshake has already reported spending $56 million on media for this race, while the Digital Freedom Fund has spent $7 million. Brown previously lost his seat in 2024 after Fairshake spent $41 million to oppose him. Other Democratic and Republican organisations have also spent tens of millions of dollars on the Ohio race.
The Digital Freedom Fund is a PAC launched by Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. It has focused its recent spending on supporting Republican candidates in key Senate races. Protect Progress has focused its efforts on supporting specific candidates like Wahab in California’s 14th district.
An FEC spokesperson told Cointelegraph that IT staff are working to restore the electronic filing system. Campaign finance data submitted before the outage remains visible on the agency website. New filings cannot be processed or viewed by the public until the system is back online.
Also reported by
Reported and edited by the YourKhabri desk under our editorial policy. Nothing here is investment advice.