Americans Show Growing Distrust in Crypto and AI Amid Surge in Industry Super PAC Spending, Poll Reveals

A fresh Politico survey reveals that most Americans hold deep skepticism toward both crypto and artificial intelligence, sparking serious debate over whether industry-funded super PACs backing political candidates could ultimately drive voters to turn against them at the ballot box.

Crypto and AI industry coalitions are funneling tens of millions of dollars into the 2026 midterm election cycle, yet a newly released survey exposes a striking contradiction — the overwhelming majority of Americans continue to distrust both sectors entirely.

Nearly 45% of Americans believe cryptocurrency investment carries more risk than reward, while 44% feel AI is advancing at a dangerously unchecked pace, according to an April survey conducted by Public First for Politico. The same survey further revealed that almost half of respondents place greater financial trust in traditional banking institutions over crypto platforms, and a striking two-thirds actively want Congress to step in — either through strict regulatory frameworks or broad oversight principles governing artificial intelligence development.

These figures send a clear warning signal to candidates who actively accept funding from industry-aligned super PACs. In hypothetical electoral matchups, poll respondents showed dramatically lower enthusiasm for candidates receiving financial support from groups pushing looser AI regulations, strongly favoring instead those who aligned themselves with organizations demanding tighter and more comprehensive technology oversight rules.

“Skepticism of the industries, those results suggest, could turn into voter backlash if Americans grow fed up with the heavy spending,”the report said.

Public First ran the poll between April 11 and 14, gathering responses from 2,035 American adults through an online platform. Researchers applied demographic weighting across age, race, gender, geographic location, and educational background to ensure accuracy, producing an overall sampling margin of error sitting at ±2.2 percentage points.

AI and Crypto PACs Ramp Up Spending in Major Political Push

Pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future, which first entered the political arena in August 2025, has successfully amassed over $75 million and strategically directed those funds across primary races in North Carolina, Texas, Illinois, and New York. Meanwhile, Fairshake — the pro-crypto political action committee drawing financial muscle from Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and Ripple Labs — has already pushed $28 million into a series of highly competitive primary battles nationwide.

Both industries are simultaneously pouring massive resources into professional lobbying efforts. OpenAI and Anthropic each recorded their highest-ever lobbying expenditures during the first quarter of 2026, setting new benchmarks for corporate political spending. The crypto industry, meanwhile, is aggressively driving the CLARITY Act through the Senate chambers — a sweeping market structure bill the sector hopes will finally deliver long-awaited regulatory certainty and clear legal ground for digital assets moving forward.

Back in 2024, a Fairshake-affiliated political action committee aggressively deployed over $40 million to successfully unseat Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown — a longstanding and vocal crypto critic who is now mounting yet another electoral comeback.

Crypto and AI PACs Operate Quietly While Expanding Their Influence

For now, the vast majority of voters remain completely unaware that these powerful political groups even exist. A mere 9% of Americans have heard of Leading the Future, while an even smaller 3% recognize the Fairshake name. However, seasoned political observers told Politico that the moment voters begin connecting the enormous flow of money directly back to the industries funding it, the resulting public backlash could arrive with sudden and overwhelming force.

“I do think if they see somebody is backed by crypto, that’s always going to be a problem,” former Ohio Representative Jim Renacci reportedly said.