Billionaire venture capital investor Ron Conway reportedly cut ties with a cryptocurrency super PAC called Fairshake after the group said it would support the Republican running against Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), according to a Politico report.
Brown is the longtime chair of the Senate Banking Committee and has raised concerns about cryptocurrency in the past, particularly after the disastrous $30 billion collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022. Last week, a network of crypto-funded super PACs announced it would spend $12 million to support Brown’s challenger, Republican Bernie Moreno, who is crypto-friendly. According to Politico’s report, Conway was incensed to discover the financial support to Moreno and wrote in an email reported by the outlet that he had plans to discuss Democratic lawmakers’ views on digital assets with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) when he learned of the network’s move.
“You all know that is [a] ‘slap in the face’ to Sen. Schumer. And a ‘slap in the face’ to me when you know I’m meeting him in SF tomorrow. How shortsighted and stupid can you possibly be?” Conway wrote, according to the report. He also complained emphatically about being blindsided by the news.
“NOT ONE PERSON BOTHERED TO GIVE ME A HEADS UP THAT YOU WERE DOINIG [sic] THIS,” Conway wrote. He said he was finished with the group owing to a lack of shared values.
Conway is a major Democratic donor who has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee and vice president Kamala Harris and is among the roughly 100 venture capitalists and founders who have joined VCs for Kamala. Conway has donated about $500,000 to two different Harris-related funds, with his latest $25,000 pledge at the end of June. Once dubbed the “Godfather of Silicon Valley,” Conway is the founder and managing partner of SV Angel, a firm involved in the successes of Airbnb, Facebook, Google, and Twitter. He has also invested in at least 10 crypto firms, including Coinbase and Uniswap.
Fairshake donors include high-profile cryptocurrency investors and other players, including Coinbase, Ripple, venture firm a16z, and Union Square Ventures. As of last month, the super PAC’s balance was $161 million.