‘Big Crypto’ behind critical ads of Sherrod Brown again — without talking crypto

For the second time in two years, a deep-pocketed political group backed by the cryptocurrency industry is trying to end Sherrod Brown’s political career. 

FairShake PAC announced this week it would spend $30 million on new ads targeting Brown. The group’s financial backers include Ripple Labs, which produces a cryptocurrency used for payments and has given $48 million to the PAC. Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, gave the PAC $25 million, according to Federal Election Commission records. 

The group’s ads, sponsored by an affiliate called Defend American Jobs, have already started airing, according to Medium Buying, a political ad tracking firm outside of Columbus. Neither ad mentions cryptocurrency.

One is a positive ad about Republican Sen. Jon Husted’s biography. The second one plays the Republican hits, criticizing Brown for past liberal votes to hike the federal gas tax, expand the IRS and “give Social Security benefits to illegals” (which is a dubious claim.) 

Patrick Eisenhauer, Brown’s campaign manager, issued an olive branch to Big Crypto in April, saying the former Democratic senator would keep an “open mind” on the subject. He revoked the gesture after the group announced its plans to unload on Brown again.