Crypto industry targets Sherrod Brown with $30 million ad campaign

Many believe Bernie Moreno did not defeat Sherrod Brown in 2024; the cryptocurrency industry did. Cryptocurrency firms and their affiliated political groups spent a whopping $40 million opposing Brown as he sought re-election. It might have made the difference. Donald Trump won Ohio by 11 percentage points, but Moreno beat Brown by just 3 1/2 percentage points, a relatively tight election by Ohio standards.

Crypto has a grudge against Brown because when he was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a leading member of that panel, he backed tougher regulations on the crypto industry.

And Brown is back, looking to reenter the Senate, and the crypto industry is back trying to stop him.

This week, the leading crypto political action committee, Fairshake, said it plans to spend at least $30 million to support Sen. Jon Husted and oppose Brown.

It is just another example of how important this race is in the struggle to control Congress, and another example of big money exerting a huge influence on how Americans elect their leaders.

Joining us to dig deeper into this is Joe Light, a senior writer at Barron's who covers the intersection of Washington and business.

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