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Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the 2026 US midterms and will take control in January, handing them a chance to rewrite the stalled CLARITY Act, the bill meant to set federal rules for crypto markets, Cointelegraph reported on Nov. 6. Crypto companies spent $233 million on political committees during the cycle, according to Public Citizen’s analysis of federal filings cited by the outlet.
That money did not buy the result the industry wanted in Ohio. Democrat Sherrod Brown, a longtime crypto skeptic, defeated Republican Sen. Jon Husted, even though crypto-backed political action committees spent $64 million trying to beat him. Cointelegraph also reported that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, among crypto’s loudest critics in Washington and the most senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is expected to chair the panel next Congress.
Also read: Bitcoin Rebounds to $78,354 After Democratic Midterm Sweep
Key facts
- Crypto interests contributed $233 million to political committees in the 2026 midterm cycle, per Public Citizen’s analysis of federal filings.
- Democrats won both chambers and take control in January, giving them leverage over the CLARITY Act, which the Senate failed to advance in September over ethics provisions.
- Crypto-backed PACs spent $64 million to defeat Sherrod Brown in Ohio; he won anyway.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to chair the Senate Banking Committee in the next Congress.
- The Binance hack of Oct. 29, in which over $6.3 billion was stolen, landed as lawmakers were already weighing the bill.
A different bargain for market structure
House Democrats are said to be considering expanding proposals from Rep. Maxine Waters into a full market structure bill, according to Cointelegraph. Such a bill could carry tougher consumer protections, a larger role for the Securities and Exchange Commission and new ethics restrictions on public officials’ crypto dealings. Rep. Shri Thanedar told the outlet he still believes the CLARITY Act can pass, but only with stronger ethics requirements, and said President Trump’s conduct had set back crypto legislation.
Hadley Stern, head of institutions at Silence Laboratories and a founder of Fidelity Digital Assets, told Cointelegraph that Democrats are right to pursue the Trump family’s crypto ventures, calling them the thing poisoning the bipartisan deal. Paul Brody of Nightfall Networks, a former global blockchain lead at EY, expects banks to come out ahead and said the industry would be wise to accept consumer-protection conditions similar to those imposed on banks.
Election jitters reach AI and data centers
Fox Business reported that investors and business leaders gave the Democratic sweep mixed reviews. US stock futures dipped overnight on fears of tighter rules for AI, crypto and data centers, then recovered after President Trump said he would accept the results, according to Reuters as cited by Fox Business. Capital.com analyst Daniela Hathorn told Reuters the outcome eased worries about prolonged political gridlock, while Federated Hermes’ Deborah Cunningham said divided government could form a blockade against new legislation.
Fox Business reported that Elon Musk, who spent more than $400 million backing Republican candidates, reacted on X to several of his picks losing. It also reported that Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on keeping a moratorium on new data center construction, and that Altimeter Capital’s Brad Gerstner estimated 10 to 15 gigawatts of expected AI capacity could be affected, per MarketWatch. Continental CFO Roland Welzbacher told Reuters that what US operations need is stability and a reliable economic framework.
Why it matters
The industry’s Washington spending is now measured against a Congress that will write the rules it has to live under. A Democratic majority does not have to bury market structure legislation, but the price of passage has shifted toward consumer protection and ethics language aimed at the White House as much as at exchanges. Brody told Cointelegraph a presidential veto remains possible and that crypto is likely a low priority next to corruption investigations and budget fights.
What to watch
The next test is the coming vote on CLARITY and whether House Democrats formally fold Waters’ proposals into a broader bill. 1inch deputy general counsel Maylea Ma told Cointelegraph the Binance hack is likely to affect that vote and could harden lawmakers against a bill without stronger safeguards.
This article is not financial advice, and crypto markets are volatile and uncertain.
Reported by Cointelegraph.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Fox Business