Which organizations are spending the most to lobby Congress right now, and on which bills? Follow the lobbying money on the most active issues this quarter.

Top lobbying spenders this quarter are concentrated in three hot-button areas: digital assets, defense, and financial services.

Digital Assets dominate Q3 2026 lobbying activity. H.R. 3633 (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act) has drawn 388 filings from 146 clients. The top spenders are Coinbase (21 filings), Solana Policy Institute (12 filings), and American Bankers Association (11 filings). Lobbying firms AVOQ LLC (25 filings, 9 clients) and Invariant LLC (25 filings, 10 clients) lead the pack. The ecosystem includes crypto platforms (Ripple, Hedera Hashgraph), traditional finance (Wells Fargo, Visa, JPMorgan), and advocacy groups (Crypto Council for Innovation, DeFi Education Fund). Quarterly filings show steady escalation: Q1 had 278 filings, Q2 had 305, Q3 reached 330.

Defense Authorization (S. 4784 / H.R. 8800, FY27 NDAA) attracted 20 disclosed lobbying filings. The National Education Association reported $670,000 in Q2 expenses on the bill. Defense contractors General Dynamics and BAE Systems filed through The Nickles Group ($110,000 income). Smaller defense tech firms (ManTech, Advanced Space, Chaos Industries) also registered.

Credit Card Competition (S. 3623 / H.R. 7035) saw the highest single-filer spend: American Bankers Association reported $3.14 million in Q1 expenses. Visa ($2.57 million), JPMorgan Chase ($1.21 million), and Credit Union National Association ($1.13 million) followed. Retailers (Target, Best Buy, Kroger) also lobbied to support the bill's interchange-fee provisions.

Financial services broadly (FIN issue code) had 1,488 organizations filing in 2026, with Kalshi Inc. (prediction markets), Equifax, and Farm Credit Council among the top 30 filers. Tax (TAX code) drew 3,400 organizations; Healthcare (HCR) 4,132; Defense (DEF) 3,860; Environment (ENV) 1,424.

The money follows legislative action: digital asset bills are moving fastest, defense bills are annual fixtures, and credit card competition remains contested between financial institutions and retailers.

Sources

Sources

  1. Lobbying Activity — s-3623 (Senate LDA)
  2. Lobbying Activity — hr-8800 (Senate LDA)
  3. Lobbying Activity — s-4784 (Senate LDA)
  4. LEAGUE OF SOUTHEASTERN CREDIT UNIONS - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  5. SIDEPRIZE LLC D/B/A PRIZEPICKS - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  6. ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  7. ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS ASSOCIATION - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  8. NATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  9. AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  10. CRYPTEX FINANCE (CONNECT STRATEGY LLC) - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  11. NATIONAL COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT COALITION - LDA filing, 2026 Q3 (Senate LDA)
  12. COINBASE, INC. - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  13. SOLANA POLICY INSTITUTE - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  14. AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  15. WELLS FARGO & COMPANY - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  16. VISA, INC. - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  17. DEFI EDUCATION FUND - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  18. SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION (SIFMA) - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  19. CRYPTO COUNCIL FOR INNOVATION - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)
  20. BLOCKCHAIN ASSOCIATION - latest LDA filing (2026) (Senate LDA)

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