Solana-Backed PAC Targets Ohio Senate Race With $8M

he Sentinel Action Fund, a conservative super PAC backed by Solana’s policy arm and crypto venture firm Multicoin Capital, has committed $8 million to defeat former Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s Senate race. The contest is seen as pivotal for Senate control and the direction of U.S. digital asset policy.

Sentinel Fund Targets Brown Over His Stance on Digital Asset Innovation

The Sentinel Action Fund and its affiliated nonprofit Right Vote announced Wednesday that the funds would be directed toward Republican Jon Husted, who currently holds the Ohio Senate seat after being appointed to fill the vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance. 

In announcing the commitment, Sentinel accused Brown, who chaired the Senate Banking Committee before losing his seat in 2024, of having “stood in the way of pro-innovation policies when it comes to digital assets.” Brown is seeking to reclaim the seat he lost last cycle, setting up a rematch dynamic that has drawn significant outside interest from the crypto industry.

A Donor Coalition That Spans Wall Street and Silicon Valley

Sentinel’s financial backing extends well beyond crypto. Alongside the Solana Policy Institute and Multicoin Capital, donors include Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments, AQR Capital Management co-founder Cliff Asness, and Paul Singer,  the billionaire co-CEO of Elliott Management, which holds a stake in Michael Saylor’s bitcoin company Strategy.

The single largest contributor to the PAC is Townsend Six Corp., a nonprofit incorporated in late 2024 that directed $8 million to Sentinel from an unidentified source. The Solana Policy Institute’s own contribution amounted to $750,000. 

Notably, the institute has not restricted its political spending to one party: Federal Election Commission records show it has sent $2 million to Republican congressional PACs and $1.5 million to Democratic PACs with opposing objectives.

Ohio Senate Race Tightens as Crypto PAC Spending Expands

The Ohio race has emerged as one of the most competitive contests determining which party controls the Senate after November’s midterm elections. Democrats, navigating a challenging map of open seats, have been helped by a decline in Republican approval ratings under President Donald Trump, compressing what had been a sizeable Husted lead. 

More recent polling shows the race effectively tied, a marked shift from surveys last year that gave Husted a commanding advantage. Sentinel’s involvement adds to a well-capitalized crypto electoral apparatus that has grown considerably this cycle. 

The sector’s flagship PAC, Fairshake, has already been active, and the newly formed Fellowship PAC entered the fray this month supporting pro-digital asset candidates. When Brown lost his seat in the 2024 election, Fairshake alone spent $40 million targeting his campaign.

Legislative Stakes Raise the Industry’s Interest in November’s Outcome

The outcome in Ohio, and in other contested Senate races, carries real legislative stakes for the crypto sector. A Democratic majority in the Senate or House could reshape the trajectory of pending digital asset legislation. Industry advocates, however, note that crypto has built meaningful bipartisan support in Congress and expect the sector to add further allies following the November elections.