When former congressional staffer Jake Rakov launched a primary bid against his old boss, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., the race seemed to fit a pattern.

The Democratic primary season is quickly shaping up to be dominated by intergenerational battles — and Rakov, at 37, presented himself as a fresh face against Sherman, who has been in Congress since 1997.

Other political forces, however, appear to be at work on Rakov’s campaign. As soon as he announced his challenge, donations from three officials at cryptocurrency trade groups landed in the upstart’s coffers, with a fourth donor coming in on their heels.

“Crypto is smart enough to realize that there are broad concerns among Democrats about aging in office.”

Jeff Hauser, the executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a left-leaning group that is critical of the digital assets industry, said crypto appears poised to use the narrative that incumbent Democrats are too old and out of touch.

“It would definitely send a message were they to be able to dislodge him,” Hauser said of Sherman. “Crypto is smart enough to realize that there are broad concerns among Democrats about aging in office.”

The cash, however, was a drop in the bucket: Unseating a fixture like Sherman would take more muscle. It nonetheless signaled how eager crypto is to topple industry skeptics.

Crypto insiders and skeptics alike say the industry is poised to latch on to the developing youth-versus-age narrative to elect friendlier legislators. Voters in heavily Democratic districts like Sherman’s, however, will not buy it, the longtime member of Congress predicted.

“If you go to a Democratic district and say, ‘Brought to you by the makers of Trump coin’ — they’re not going to buy that product,” Sherman told The Intercept. “My opponents can’t beat me without $5 or $10 million from crypto. And if $5 or $10 million from crypto comes in, that becomes the issue.”

Crypto Chips In

After spending more than $130 million on last year’s elections, the crypto industry is laying plans for another influence campaign in 2026. One trio of affiliated crypto super PACs already have more than $140 million in the bank.

Though these super PACs — which last year pumped millions into television advertisements with no mention of crypto — have........

© The Intercept