The cryptocurrency industry has emerged as one of the biggest winners in the 2024 elections, with 273 pro-crypto candidates winning seats in the US House of Representatives and 19 securing positions in the Senate, according to latest data compiled by Stand with Crypto tracker.
A crypto rally followed the November 5 re-election of Donald Trump, who pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.” Bitcoin surpassed $93,000 for the first time a week later, and other cryptocurrencies like ether, solana and especially dogecoin received a boost. Overall, the crypto industry viewed the election results as a huge victory that could boost the development of digital assets in the country.
“When I look at this map, what I see is a purple wave,” says Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at Coinbase, one of the major crypto exchanges and the biggest donors last election cycle. “The crypto advocates, the people who showed up to vote, are really going to demonstrate that crypto has shown up in a big way.”
The election also marked crypto’s transformation from a fringe tech movement to a new Washington powerhouse, but the rapid rise raises questions about the future of money in American democracy.
Crypto companies alone have invested more than $119 million in the 2024 elections, accounting for 44% of all corporate political spending, according to data compiled by the nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen . Koch Industries, a traditional heavyweight among political donors, comes in second.
Only fossil fuel companies have spent more since 2010, when the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has opened the floodgates on corporate election spending, data shows.
“Over those 14 years, this huge spending by crypto companies in the 2024 cycle alone has caused them to become the second-largest active sector in terms of political spending,” noted Rick Claypool, author of a Public Citizen report on corporate political influence.
In Ohio, cryptocurrency industry groups spent more than $40 million to help Republican Bernie Moreno, founder of a blockchain company, defeat pro-regulation Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the race for State Senate.
In several states, super PACs funded by the crypto industry ran ads that had nothing to do with crypto, Politico reported. This momentum has led some to sound the alarm about the increasingly important role that deep pockets play in American politics.
“The crypto oligarchy is big right now, and it’s dangerous,” former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, said during a Nov. 13 speech on an “Impolitic” podcast hosted by John Heilemann.
New chapter for powerful crypto players
For crypto proponents, the election has renewed optimism and created the opportunity for a more favorable regulatory environment.
“It’s been an incredibly exciting three years where we’ve seen the crypto industry once again shake hands, from large companies to small startups, and think about how crypto policy will shape not only this industry, but future economy,” Calvert said.
“Most politicians have learned that there is no benefit to being anti-crypto”
“We have definitely turned a corner as an industry, the conference we attend next year will be the most pro-crypto yet,” said Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association. “Most politicians have learned that there is no benefit to being anti-crypto, and so I think there will be a desire to do something.”
Analysts at venture capital firm Andreeseen Horowitz, one of the largest cryptocurrency donors in the last election cycle, are also optimistic about the future of the sector.
“We are very optimistic that the government will now encourage innovation, accelerate progress, and enable the crypto ecosystem to thrive in the United States,” Miles Jennings, Michele Korver, and Brian Quintenz wrote in a joint article. “The future of crypto in the United States is bright – it’s a great time to build here, and we’re excited about the possibility of regulatory clarity at last.”
The political agenda and industry wish list are considerable. Top priorities include replacing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, a Biden nominee they view as hostile to digital assets, and passing the Financial Innovation and Technology bill for the 21st Century Act, or FIT21, aimed at creating a federal regulatory framework.
Candidates being considered to lead the SEC include Daniel Gallagher, a former SEC official now at Robinhood, and current Republican SEC commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, according to the Washington Post.
The influence of the crypto industry will likely be felt in the upcoming elections. Coinbase and Andreeseen provided additional funding to Fairshake, a super PAC that funds pro-crypto candidates and has about $78 million to use in the 2026 midterms. Stand with Crypto, a group that currently has 1, 9 million advocates across the country, aims to reach 4 million advocates by midterm, according to figures cited by Coinbase CEO.
Monitoring issues
The resurgence of crypto, just a few years after the scandals of FTX and other failed crypto exchanges, raises questions about who will keep crypto donors in check and consumers safe.
Much of the industry’s influence comes from a handful of wealthy players — a concentration of power that mirrors that which the financial system’s crypto pioneers once railed against.
“When you look at the (Federal Election Commission) data, it’s a very small number of companies and individuals that account for the majority of donations,” said Mark Hays, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform. Hays said the crypto legislative agenda can sometimes amount to seeking exemptions from basic consumer protections.
“I don’t think this is an industry that has tried to find common ground on regulation”
“I don’t think this is an industry that has tried to find middle ground on regulation,” Hays said. “The industry has pushed back against most existing regulatory frameworks: anti-money laundering rules, tax reporting, and even environmental emissions reporting.”
Crypto now faces a critical period to capitalize on its electoral momentum and secure meaningful regulatory reform, which will likely shape the future of digital assets in America.
“There is a real opportunity to work toward bipartisan legislation before the end of the year,” Calvert said. “The big question is: what can happen in (six) weeks? Can legislation on stablecoins happen? Can legislation on market structure happen? Can we make sure that the ( Commodity Futures Trading Commission) gets the authority to regulate cash markets?”
For industry leaders like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, it’s a matter of survival.
“What we will not tolerate are politicians who attempt to illegally destroy our industry or take away our customers’ rights,” he wrote in a Nov. 6 article on X in response to the election results.
Learn more
on personal finances
