Defend Developers PAC, a hybrid committee backed by Uniswap and Solana Policy Institute, plans six-figure spending on incumbents who protect blockchain developers. Next test: midterms.
Defend Developers PAC registered last month as a hybrid committee and plans to raise and contribute more than six figures across dozens of congressional races in the midterm cycle. The group's founder, Gavin Zavatone, policy lead at the DeFi Education Fund, said the PAC will focus on protecting blockchain developers and DeFi builders in Washington.
The new committee enters a political landscape already shaped by crypto-funded groups. Federal records show Defend Developers registered as a hybrid PAC, a structure that allows direct contributions to candidates within federal limits and unlimited independent spending through a separate account.
Zavatone described the PAC's target as lawmakers who have already backed legal protections for crypto technologists. The goal is to keep the United States a viable jurisdiction for blockchain development. The board includes members connected to Uniswap Labs, the DeFi Education Fund, and the Solana Policy Institute.
The PAC arrives at a moment when crypto-aligned political spending is accelerating. The dominant super PAC Fairshake supported 11 candidates in Tuesday's primaries across California, New Jersey, and South Dakota, and all of them advanced or won their races. Fairshake spent less than $476,000 on any single race that week, with the largest amount going to Representative George Whitesides. Last week Fairshake deployed $6.5 million in Texas against veteran Democratic Representative Al Green, who lost his primary to Christian Menefee.
Fairshake has also recorded losses, including in Illinois. The November general election could shift control of Congress, with Democrats seeking to take at least one chamber. Crypto groups are therefore entering races where financial support could matter in close contests.
The new committee enters below mid-sized crypto political groups. Those include the Fellowship PAC, linked to Tether, and the Digital Freedom Fund, tied to the Winklevoss brothers. Another industry hybrid PAC, the Blockchain Leadership Fund, was launched by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink, signalling that crypto firms are increasingly using campaign vehicles that combine direct candidate contributions with independent spending.
Defend Developers has not yet disclosed how much money it has raised. Zavatone said the PAC wants to build a political infrastructure funded by founders, builders, and executives with direct stakes in crypto policy, not by institutional asset managers or exchange revenue.
A hybrid PAC offers more flexibility than a standard super PAC. Defend Developers can write direct checks to candidates, subject to federal limits, and also run unlimited independent ads through a separate account. This dual capability allows the committee to support incumbents directly while also funding television, digital, or mail campaigns without coordination.
The board's connections to Uniswap Labs, the DeFi Education Fund, and the Solana Policy Institute point toward a strategy shaped by DeFi protocol builders and layer-1 developers. Zavatone stated that the PAC will direct resources toward lawmakers who defend developers, creators, and decentralized finance projects. The committee is not aiming at broad crypto adoption or tax policy – its mandate is narrower.
Key insight: The board composition suggests the PAC is built to protect the legal treatment of software creators. If the legislative debate moves toward strict liability for DeFi operators or open-source developer exposure, this group becomes a direct beneficiary of a funded lobbying channel.
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