Techub News, citing The Verge, reported that Anthropic, OpenAI and NVIDIA each posted record quarterly lobbying spending during the July-to-September period. NVIDIA spent the most at $2.2 million, followed by Anthropic at $2.1 million and OpenAI at $1.5 million. The figures marked a new high for each company on a quarterly basis during the third quarter.
Bloomberg Government data shows that Coinbase and major crypto industry groups reduced their lobbying spending in the third quarter of 2026. The pullback came after the U.S. Senate voted down the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, on Sept. 15, 2026. The measure failed by a 49-50 vote and needed 60 votes to move forward. The update points to a decline in crypto lobbying outlays during the quarter, based on the data cited by Techub News.
Federal lobbying spending by Coinbase and several major crypto industry groups fell in the third quarter from the second quarter after the CLARITY Act stalled in the U.S. Senate in September, but total spending for the quarter still topped $4 million. The sector has now stayed above that level for six straight quarters. The CLARITY Act was designed to create a regulatory framework for the digital asset market. Factors cited for the bill’s failure to advance included disagreements within the industry over yield-bearing stablecoin businesses, pressure from traditional banking groups, and disputes over ethics provisions tied to politicians’ crypto-related financial interests. In the first half of 2026, the crypto industry spent more than $8 million pushing market structure legislation. Coinbase accounted for about $2.2 million of that total, while Kraken spent nearly $1 million. Some lobbying firms also ended their work with crypto industry clients during the third quarter.
Privacy coin project Zcash has registered a lobbying team in Washington, according to information cited by Techub News. The disclosure shows the group plans to lobby on the CLARITY Act as well as two digital asset tax proposals. The registration points to a more direct effort by Zcash to take part in the U.S. crypto policymaking process. Cointelegraph was cited as the source of the disclosed information. The move centers on policy engagement in Washington and highlights the project’s interest in legislative and tax issues tied to digital assets.
Pretty Good Policy for Zcash, or PGPZ, has filed a lobbying registration in the United States, according to Cointelegraph, marking a formal step by a Zcash-focused advocacy group into Washington policy discussions. The registration took effect on Oct. 1, and executive director Divij Pandya is listed as the only registered lobbyist. The filing names the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and two digital asset tax proposals as the group’s current and expected lobbying issues. PGPZ was formed in June this year and grew out of Pretty Good Policy for Crypto, an initiative launched by Electric Coin Co. in 2022. That earlier effort held a policy roundtable in Washington and organized a congressional briefing on crypto technology in 2023. PGPZ founder Paul Brigner, who is also chief policy and regulatory officer at ZODL, said the goal is to make sure Zcash has “serious, organized and credible policy engagement” in Washington. In August, Zcash Community Grants approved a $750,000 grant to fund PGPZ’s first year of work.
A CoinDesk review of U.S. federal lobbying disclosures found that the crypto industry spent more than $13 million on lobbying in the first half of 2026, with about $8 million tied to efforts to advance the CLARITY Act. The market structure bill then failed a Senate procedural vote on Sept. 15 by a 49-50 margin. After that setback, Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto shifted attention toward the November midterm elections and on Sept. 30 released its first slate of Senate endorsements. The group backed Jon Husted in Ohio, Ashley Hinson in Iowa, and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, while also naming House candidates Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Shomari Figures and saying it would add advertising in six House races. CoinDesk’s analysis also showed Coinbase spent about $2.2 million lobbying for the bill, Kraken spent close to $1 million, and outside lobbying work was spread across at least 42 firms. At the same time, industry groups said some resources are now being redirected toward engagement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The crypto industry spent $13 million on lobbying in the first half of the year, with the largest share of that money directed toward efforts to advance the Clarity Act. The bill did not move forward in the U.S. Senate, according to information cited by CoinDesk and carried by Odaily. Coinbase led the related lobbying spending, while a number of crypto companies and industry associations also hired lobbyists. Beyond direct lobbying activity, the industry paid millions of dollars in service fees to at least 42 outside professional firms. The figures point to a broad and organized push around federal legislation, even though the Clarity Act failed to gain traction in the Senate during the period covered.
Data cited by ChainCatcher shows that the cryptocurrency industry spent more than $13 million in total during the first half of 2026. Of that amount, about $8 million was specifically allocated to lobbying efforts tied to the CLARITY Act. Even with that level of spending, the bill has still not passed the Senate. The figures point to a concentrated push around a single piece of legislation, with a large share of the industry’s spending aimed at advancing the CLARITY Act. ChainCatcher did not provide more detail in the brief on the underlying dataset, the entities involved, or the breakdown of the remaining spending. For now, the central takeaway is straightforward: lobbying around the bill drew substantial funding in the first six months of 2026, but that spending has not yet translated into Senate passage.
