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The cryptocurrency industry<\/span> has a new line of attack against candidates who have voted for consumer protections on digital coins: calling them corrupt.<\/p>\n In at least two Illinois congressional primaries, candidates vying for the progressive vote are being accused by a crypto political action committee of corruption. Fairshake PAC is trying to smear one candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as a corporate tool and another candidate who successfully fought a federal indictment as a tax cheat.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most corrupt actors in the country is trying to appropriate an anti-corruption argument.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n The industry has thrown at least $3.3 million into negative attacks on the campaigns in the 2nd and 7th Congressional Districts thus far, according to an analysis from a Chicago political consultant<\/a>. That spending represents only a fraction of the PAC\u2019s war chest for the remainder of the primary season.<\/p>\n \u201cIronically, we\u2019re in a very anti-corruption moment, and you know that is true because one of the most corrupt actors in the country is trying to appropriate an anti-corruption argument,\u201d said Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project, a crypto industry critic. \u201cThe threat is that the cynical deployment of an anti-corruption politics undermines the potential for success of a genuine anti-corruption politics.\u201d<\/p>\n Fairshake declined to comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In both races, crypto industry interests are attacking Democratic candidates \u2014 state Sen. Robert Peters and state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford \u2014 who voted for consumer protection regulations on cryptocurrency in the Illinois statehouse last year.<\/p>\n That legislation, supported by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, forces crypto companies<\/a> to register with the state and comply with local rules if they want to serve Illinois residents. Crypto companies have long opposed state-level regulations, preferring a single set of looser regulations at the federal level.<\/p>\n As the congressional elections heated up this year, the crypto industry began delivering payback.<\/p>\n Mailers targeting Peters<\/a>, for instance, accuse him of being a \u201ccorporate pawn\u201d and \u201cbankrolled by special interests,\u201d based on campaign contributions he has received.<\/p>\n Peters has responded by noting that he is endorsed by national progressives including Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D- Mass., who are fierce foes of corporate interests.<\/p>\n Commenting on the Fairshake mailer, Peters said that it was \u201cpaid for by Trump\u2019s top donors, to make sure they buy a lapdog in this congressional seat who will let them avoid all regulation. Nasty work.\u201d<\/p>\n Two of Peters\u2019s top opponents, Jesse Jackson Jr.<\/a> and Donna Miller<\/a>, have received A ratings from Stand With Crypto, an industry group, based on their promises to pass industry-friendly legislation. (Their campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n