The crypto industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars during the midterm election cycle, just for anti-crypto Democrats to become more ascendant.
asserted
Democrats → spend → cycle
Anti-crypto lawmakers will likely take key positions of power in a Democratic Congress next year, although the industry claims it helped elect more pro-crypto lawmakers than ever.
uncertain
it → take → lawmakers
Americans’ hatred towards artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers led to the wipeout and that a Democratic majority in Congress will focus more on oversight of the crypto industry’s relationship with President Donald Trump than on scrutinizing the industry itself, experts say.
asserted
experts → lead → industry
The industry spent $200 million during the midterm elections, with more than $60 million spent unsuccessfully to defeat former Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, a staunch anti-crypto lawmaker, according to Reuters.
uncertain
million → spend → Reuters
“The Sherrod Brown race was a huge whiff,” Ron Hammond, head of policy at crypto trading firm Wintermute, and a former Blockchain Association and Ripple government relations director, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview.
asserted
Hammond → tell → interview
Brown spent years as the Senate Banking Committee chairman, often blocking the advancement of crypto bills passed by the House, and instead focused on consumer protection-related issues, per Coindesk.
asserted
Brown → spend → Coindesk
After his ouster in 2024, Congress passed the GENIUS Act in 2025, a bill regulating stablecoins, or digitized dollars, and nearly passed legislation establishing how to regulate much of the crypto industry bill, per the outlet.
asserted
Congress → pass → outlet
The crypto industry in 2024 spent roughly $40 million to unseat Brown and elect Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno, a pro-crypto candidate, according to Bloomberg.
uncertain
industry → spend → Bloomberg
Brown’s return to Congress would likely hinder the future advancement of crypto bills.
asserted
return → hinder → bills
Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego said crypto groups “better go talk to Sherrod Brown first” before trying to pass another crypto bill, the Washington Sun reported.
asserted
Sun → say → bill
Despite the loss in that prominent race, he argued that Americans were focused on more salient issues such as AI and data centers.
asserted
Americans → argue → AI
“You could probably say AI data centers definitely had a lot more of an impact on the elections, as did the cost of living and all that stuff.
uncertain
cost → say → living
Crypto, as many folks know, kind of went to the sideline in terms of issues,” Hammond explained.
asserted
Hammond → know → issues
Stand With Crypto, a crypto advocacy organization launched with the help of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, said a majority of its endorsed candidates won their elections in a statement on Wednesday, per a press release.
asserted
majority → launch → release
Stand With Crypto said on its website.
asserted
Stand → say → website
“These midterm election results are a testament to these voters and to the time, energy, and decisions they contributed towards protecting a better financial system for us all,” Mason Lynaugh, the executive director of Stand With Crypto, said in a statement.
asserted
Lynaugh → contribute → statement
“Some crypto champions won and some lost, but we have more pro-crypto candidates elected to Congress than we’ve ever seen in a new member class before.
asserted
we → win → class
That’s progress,” Kara Calvert, the vice president of policy for Coinbase, wrote on Wednesday.
asserted
Calvert → ’ → Wednesday
1/ The post-election hot takes are missing an important point: the election wasn’t a referendum on crypto.
asserted
election → miss → crypto
Some crypto champions won and some lost, but we have more pro-crypto candidates elected to Congress than we’ve ever seen in a new member class before.
asserted
we → win → class
That’s progress.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
— Kara Calvert 🛡️ (@karacalvert) November 4, 2026
Fairshake, a super PAC backed by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Ripple and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, backed 32 House candidates: 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats, per Reuters.
asserted
Fairshake → back → Reuters
Twenty-nine of these 34 candidates have won so far and of the six House candidates that it spent more than $1 million, it won three.
asserted
it → win → three
(RELATED: Major Crypto PAC Reveals Which Campaigns Will Be Receiving Checks In Mail)
asserted
Campaigns → reveal → Mail
“Newly elected and current members will have a choice: protect consumers and American jobs or fight progress,” Geoff Vetter, a spokesperson for Fairshake, told the outlet.
asserted
Vetter → elect → outlet
The crypto super PAC claimed victory in defeating Nebraska independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn’s bid to oust Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, a pro-crypto lawmaker that voted to advance the Clarity Act, which ultimately did not pass through the Senate this Congress, Reuters noted.
asserted
Reuters → claim → Senate
“As the biggest spender in the Nebraska Senate race, we’re proud to have helped Sen. Ricketts weather the waves of a hard-fought cycle,” Vetter said.
asserted
Vetter → ’re → cycle
Fairshake did not respond to a DCNF comment request.
asserted
Fairshake → respond → request
Crypto PACs spent $2 million backing House Financial Services digital asset subcommittee chairman Bryan Steil, all for Wisconsin Democratic candidate Mitchell Berman to unseat him, per Fortune.
asserted
Berman → spend → Fortune
The digital asset industry spent $1.4 million in favor of Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who lost to Democratic candidate James Talarico, per the outlet.
asserted
who → spend → outlet
However, Talarico may be a pro-crypto senator despite the industry’s opposition to him, Hammond argued.
uncertain
Hammond → argue → him
Talarico, as a state representative in June 2025, voted for S.B. 121, a bill that would establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the state of Texas, which Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law in June, per LegiScan.
asserted
Abbott → vote → LegiScan
Talarico’s campaign did not respond to a DCNF comment request.
asserted
campaign → respond → request
Industry officials have established a strong foothold in Washington, D.C., over the last few years.
asserted
officials → establish → years
“Where crypto is today compared to we were two years ago is night and day,” Stu Alderoty, chief legal officer at Ripple, told the outlet.
asserted
Alderoty → compare → outlet
President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign tried to build a “crypto army,” although it appears voters may have soured on the elections since then, according to NBC News.
uncertain
voters → try → News
Sixty-three percent of American voters have a negative view of crypto, while 37% had a more favorable view of the crypto industry, according to a Coindesk poll released in April.
uncertain
% → have → April
Nearly two-thirds of likely midterm voters said they were less likely to vote for a candidate who took a lot of donations from the crypto industry, while only 13% would be more likely to vote for a crypto industry-backed candidate, per a July poll commissioned by Americans for Financial Reform, a left-leaning progressive advocacy group.
asserted
% → say → Reform
As Democratic lawmakers plan their legislative agenda, Hammond said that he believes they will focus on the industry’s relationship with the Trump administration.
asserted
they → plan → administration
He pointed to a Wall Street Journal report that alleged that then-White House crypto adviser Bo Hines helped shape a law around stablecoins, or a digital version of the dollar, while receiving millions of dollars from Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, per Yahoo Finance.
asserted
Hines → point → Finance
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
