An organization that has been lobbying the United States government for policies favoring the crypto industry is pushing for lawmakers in a congressional committee to oppose the renomination of Caroline Crenshaw at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a Dec. 9 notice, the Cedar Innovation Foundation said it had launched a “five-figure, multi-channel” digital campaign urging US lawmakers to reject Crenshaw’s nomination for a second term at the SEC. The group claimed that the SEC commissioner was “more anti-crypto” than Chair Gary Gensler on policies like spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds.
“Last month, Americans voted for pro-innovation leadership, and this Sherrod Brown bait-and-switch directly defies the will of the voters,” said Cedar. “We urge lawmakers to vote ‘no.’”
On Dec. 11, the Senate Banking Committee is expected to decide whether to send Crenshaw’s nomination to the full chamber for a vote. Democrats will hold a majority in the Senate until Jan. 3, when the new Congress is sworn in and Republicans take control.
Crenshaw was nominated by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 and confirmed by the Senate. Her term officially expired in June 2024, but SEC commissioners are usually permitted to continue serving for up to 18 months after their terms end.
Related: Crypto industry fears ‘vehemently anti crypto’ Caroline Crenshaw SEC vote
US President Joe Biden nominated Crenshaw to a second term in June, but lawmakers did not vote on her position before the 2024 election. If the banking committee sends her nomination to the Senate and she is confirmed, Crenshaw could serve at the SEC until at least June 2029.
Gensler announced he would resign from the SEC on Jan. 20, the day Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated as the next US president. Trump said in December that he intended to nominate former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to fill Gensler’s seat.
Where’s the Cedar money coming from?
Josh Vlasto is a spokesperson for Cedar as well as the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, which poured roughly $140 million into media buys to support pro-crypto candidates in the 2024 elections.
According to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse — the firm is one of Fairshake’s biggest backers — the money from the crypto industry “absolutely” had an impact on certain races.
A Fairshake affiliate spent roughly $40 million on ads supporting Republican Bernie Moreno over Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown for a US Senate seat in 2024. Brown chairs the Senate Banking Committee and is one of the more vocal anti-crypto voices in Congress.
Cedar also launched its own campaign in December 2023, targeting Brown over Gensler’s policies. The Ohio senator ended up losing to Moreno by roughly 200,000 votes.
Vlasto said there was “no connection at all” between the two groups. He added that “Cedar does not disclose its donors.”
Barron’s reported in July that at least one of Cedar’s board members, Tyler Whirty, was behind the launch of crypto-backed PAC HODLpac in 2020. According to the Federal Election Commission, HODLpac only reported roughly $32,000 in expenditures between January 2023 and July 2024.
Fairshake has already announced its intention to try and influence the outcome of races in the 2026 midterm elections. The PAC reported holding $103 million as of Nov. 26.
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