A new federal campaign report was released Wednesday for the Democratic primary for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District. This represents a huge “media buyout” of $412,000 for candidate Shomali Figures.

The report was filed by the super PAC Protect Progress, a PAC founded by crypto interests that has spent millions of dollars attacking Democrats across the country, because the PAC It was just the latest huge outlay.

In total, Protect Progress has spent more than $1.7 million on figures for this campaign, using fancy mailers to deliver materials supporting little-known candidates to districts that include some of the poorest Americans. They bought up delivery men and produced commercials.

Nationally, two super PACs affiliated with Protect Progress are raising large sums of money to fight lawmakers seeking to more thoroughly regulate the troubled industry in the wake of devastating scandals and fraud. has attracted media attention. Most notably, it is focused on defeating Katie Porter in California and Sherrod Brown in Ohio, both of whom are seen as top supporters of crypto regulation. The attacks on Mr. Porter, one of the best-known advocates for consumers and fair banking and investment practices, have drawn particular criticism in Democratic circles.

The $1.7 million that Protect Progress has spent so far supporting Figures is significantly more than the total spent by every other candidate in the race, an astonishing amount for an Alabama House race. It is. It's unclear why the company spent so much money on Figures, but several media outlets pointed to “strange” statements on Figures' campaign website.

The “Issues” page on the Figures website says:Embracing the new landscape around digital assets such as cryptocurrencies will stimulate innovation and technological progress, and as blockchain continues to evolve, its applications will come to the region in areas such as supply chain management, healthcare, and identity verification. Make sure it's profitable. ”

This is similar to a statement posted on the Republican candidate's website, which Politico noted was keen to embrace cryptocurrency platforms in exchange for large donations. The American Prospect called the statement unusual in the wake of a number of recent crypto scandals, although it might have been expected in 2022.

Mr. APR asked the Figures camp a series of questions regarding the huge spending on the campaign. The response avoided the question entirely, instead pivoting to what would happen in relation to vague claims that other candidates in the race were receiving Republican support.

“We have no control over who external organizations support or how their funds are used,” the Figures statement said. “It's disappointing to see other candidates in this race being funded by MAGA Republican super donors. We've built tremendous support around our campaigns, including health care expansion, Because voters know we intend to bring our shared values ​​and priorities to Washington, including modernizing our schools, expanding financial access for small business owners, and defending our most sacred right to vote. I can move this district forward with the right representation in Washington, and voters can trust that that's exactly what I'll do.”

Figures has never held public office in Alabama, but in recent years he has worked for the Department of Justice, which is at least partially responsible for regulating the cryptocurrency industry. Two questions APR posed to Mr. Figures were whether he had ever specifically worked on the regulation of virtual currencies, and whether he had ever specifically worked on the regulation of virtual currencies, given the large amounts of money he spent on his own behalf. It asked whether voters could be assured that their interests would be protected over those of the currency industry. There were no answers to either question.

It’s easy to see why the crypto industry is concerned about regulation. After more than a year of unprecedented disruption in which millions of people suffered huge losses due to lax regulation and almost non-existent oversight, lawmakers are now seeking to bring the industry under some form of regulation. is enthusiastic about And an industry where some people have amassed huge sums of money by selling questionable assets and, in some high-profile cases, failed to protect investors' deposits, is less keen on accepting them.