Coinbase, a16z and others pour more than $78 million into pro-crypto PAC for 2026 election
With one day to go until the U.S. general election, crypto companies have already poured tens of millions of dollars into the upcoming 2026 cycle. The pro-crypto and bipartisan super PAC Fairshake said Monday that the committee and its affiliates have raised $78 million for the 2026 midterm elections.
That $78 million breaks down to more than $30 million raised, plus another $48 million in new commitments from centralized crypto exchange Coinbase and Silicon Valley venture fund Andreessen Horowitz, among other companies.
Early Monday, a16z general partner Chris Dixon, who heads up the fund’s crypto book, published a note explaining why the company contributed another $23 million to Fairshake.
“Regardless of what happens in the 2024 elections, we’re committed to supporting policymakers, irrespective of party affiliation, who will work to establish a practical regulatory framework that protects consumers while allowing the industry to grow,” the letter read.
Dixon added that “supporting a PAC like Fairshake is just one crucial part of the strategy needed to achieve our larger policy goals” and that a16z would continue to meet with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to advocate for the industry.
All in, a16z has given $70 million to Fairshake as the VC looks to support the PAC’s larger mission of building a Congress comprised of pro-crypto legislators.
On Wednesday, Coinbase announced it would give another $25 million to Fairshake.
Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over claims that it engaged in unregistered sales of securities. It’s among Fairshake’s top contributors this cycle. The exchange has given more than $75 million to Fairshake and its affiliated PACs.
“We know we need to have pro-crypto legislation passed in this country,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Coinbase shares plummeted 15% after the company reported a miss on the top and bottom lines.
Ripple Labs is another major political donor this cycle that has given around $50 million to Fairshake. A spokesperson said the company committed $25 million both this year and last year and intends to remain a strong force in DC for years to come.
Fairshake told CNBC it’s raised around $170 million this cycle and disbursed approximately $135 million.
The majority of the group’s funds can be traced to Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz and Ripple Labs. The remaining balance comes from a mix of companies and individual donors. Armstrong, for example, gave $1 million, while the Winklevoss twins put in $5 million.
Fairshake was launched last year by a consortium of crypto firms and is one of the top-spending PACs in 2024, even against oil companies and banks, which have historically been big political contributors. Nearly half of all the corporate money flowing into the election has come from the crypto industry, according to a report from the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen.
Fairshake’s spending, which has targeted House and Senate races in the 2024 cycle, is effective. Public Citizen’s report found that of the 42 primary races that attracted money from crypto-backed super PACs, 36 were won by the candidate supported by the crypto industry.
Fairshake’s corporate and individual donors want crypto laws passed in the U.S.
Dixon and others say they’re looking for comprehensive market structure legislation for digital assets and a law to govern stablecoins, tokens pegged to the value of a real-world asset that are now virtually synonymous with U.S. dollar-pegged coins.
“Many industries come to DC asking to roll back rules, and we have come to DC asking to establish them,” Dixon wrote in his post Monday.
Arevon Energy has kicked off operations at Vikings Solar-plus-Storage – one of the US’s first utility-scale solar peaker plants.
The $529 million project in Imperial County, California, near Holtville, features 157 megawatts of solar power paired with 150 megawatts/600 megawatt hours of battery storage.
Vikings Solar-plus-Storage is designed to take cheap daytime solar power and store it for use during more expensive peak demand times, like late afternoons and evenings. The battery storage system can quickly respond to changes in demand, helping tackle critical grid needs.
Vikings leverages provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that support affordable clean energy, strengthen grid resilience, boost US manufacturing, and create good jobs.
The Vikings project has already brought significant benefits to the local area. It employed over 170 people during construction, many local workers, and boosted nearby businesses like restaurants, hotels, and stores. On top of that, Vikings will pay out more than $17 million to local governments over its lifespan.
“Vikings’ advanced design sets the standard for safe and reliable solar-plus-storage configurations,” said Arevon CEO Kevin Smith. “The project incorporates solar panels, trackers, and batteries that showcase the growing strength of US renewable energy manufacturing.”
The project includes Tesla Megapack battery systems made in California, First Solar’s thin-film solar panels, and smart solar trackers from Nextracker. San Diego-based SOLV Energy handled the engineering, procurement, and construction work.
San Diego Community Power (SDCP) will buy the energy from the Vikings project under a long-term deal, helping power nearly 1 million customer accounts. SDCP and Arevon have also signed an agreement for the 200 MW Avocet Energy Storage Project in Carson, California, which will start construction in early 2025.
Vikings is named after the Holtville High School mascot, and Arevon is giving back to the local community by funding scholarships for deserving Holtville High students.
Arevon is a major renewable energy developer across the US and a key player in California, with nearly 2,500 MW in operation and more than 1,250 MW under construction.
Read more: Minnesota’s largest coal plant goes solar: Sherco Solar comes online
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China’s EV giant BYD is aggressively expanding overseas. As it finalizes plans for yet another EV manufacturing plant, this time in Cambodia, BYD will set up shop next to newly opened Ford and Toyota facilities.
BYD’s impressive growth streak is not slowing down. In October, BYD sold over 500,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), its fifth straight record sales month and the first time it has crossed the half-million mark in a single month.
With China’s auto market becoming flooded with low-cost competitors, BYD is looking to key overseas markets to drive growth.
After opening its first plant in Thailand earlier this year, a booming EV region, BYD plans to open up shop in another major Southeast Asian market.
According to Khmer Times, BYD is nearing a deal to establish a new EV manufacturing plant in Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Wednesday that the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) is in the final stage of negotiations with BYD to build a new electric vehicle facility in the region.
“We may be aware that BYD is a giant Chinese company specialising in EV production, comparable to Tesla, the largest EV manufacturer in the United States,” Mr Hun Manet said at the event.
BYD closes in on deal for a new EV plant in Cambodia
BYD will follow Toyota, which opened an assembly plant in Cambodia in May, and Ford’s first assembly plant in the region, which opened in June 2022.
Cambodia’s prime minister stressed the importance of attracting new investments. With geopolitical tensions rising, many companies are looking to new locations.
Southeast Asia is expected to become a major electric vehicle hub. The Cambodian government unveiled plans earlier this year to raise automotive and electronics exports to over $2 billion while creating more than 22,000 new jobs.
BYD opening a new EV plant would be “excellent news” for Cambodia, Natharoun Ngo Son, Country Director of EnergyLab, told Khmer Times.
An EV manufacturing plant will “provide an excellent opportunity to reskill or upskill the Cambodian workforce” for new higher-paying jobs. EnergyLab is launching a new skills development program early next year to prepare the Cambodian workforce for the auto industry’s shift to EVs.
The news comes after BYD launched its first electric pickup, the Shark PHEV (BYD Shark 6), in Cambodia last month.
BYD is also planning to open EV plants in Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, Hungary, and Turkey as it competes with Ford and Toyota in the global auto market.
Electrek’s Take
According to a recent Bloomberg report, BYD is quickly catching up to Ford in global deliveries. BYD outsold Ford in the third quarter by around 40,000 units.
While Ford is cutting more jobs in Europe as part of its restructuring, BYD has been on a major hiring spree as it ramps up production to meet the higher demand.
BYD is known for its low-cost EV models, like the Seagull, Dolphin, and Atto 3, but the Chinese auto giant is expanding into pickup trucks, midsize smart SUVs, and luxury EVs.
Ford is well aware of BYD’s rise in the global auto ranks. CEO Jim Farley has warned rivals in the past about losing significant revenue if they cannot keep up with China. Farley said he was shocked by the advanced tech he saw after a trip to China in early 2023.
Although Ford is shifting gears to focus on smaller, lower-cost EVs, it may be too little too late. Ford is developing what’s promised to be one of the most efficient EV platforms in California, but its first model based on it, a midsize electric pickup, isn’t due out until 2027.
Will BYD overtake Ford in the global auto ranks? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Researchers at Canada’s University of Waterloo have developed a new lithium-ion EV battery design that can charge from zero to 80% in just 15 minutes and has a longer lifespan.
The new design also allows batteries to handle up to 800 charging cycles, significantly increasing their lifespan.
Yverick Rangom, a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Chemical Engineering, said, “If we can make batteries smaller, charge faster, and last longer, we reduce the overall cost of the vehicle. That makes EVs a viable option for more people, including those who don’t have home charging stations or who live in apartments. It would also increase the value of second-hand EVs, making electric transportation more accessible.”
The secret sauce here is in the anode, which traditionally relies on graphite. The researchers designed a method to fuse graphite particles together to improve conductivity. This tweak enables lithium ions to move fast without causing typical degradation or safety hazards associated with fast charging.
What’s cool is that they didn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of materials; the team worked with the same lithium-ion components already used in EV batteries today.
“We’re just finding a better way to arrange the particles and providing new functions to the binders that hold them together such as state-of the-art electron, ion, and heat transfer properties,” explained Michael Pope, co-lead of the research and professor at Waterloo’s Ontario Battery and Electrochemistry Research Centre. “This approach ensures that the technology can be scalable and implemented using current production lines, offering a low-cost solution to battery manufacturers.”
The next step? The research team is optimizing the manufacturing process and putting prototypes to the test to gauge industry interest. The goal is to make sure this new battery design isn’t just effective – it has to be scalable and ready for widespread industry adoption.
“It’s crucial that it can be implemented within the existing infrastructure for both battery production and charging stations,” added Rangom, lead researcher for the Battery Workforce Challenge.
The University of Waterloo researchers’ findings are published in the journal Advanced Science.
Read more: North Dakota is ramping up its EV charger installations
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