Crypto-friendly

A wave of crypto-friendly lawmakers is about to crash Congress

A $160 million super PAC spending spree is set to give the industry an army of allies in the House and Senate, and across party lines.

By Jasper Goodman

Brace yourself for the crypto Congress.

A $160 million political spending spree by cryptocurrency firms and executives is poised to usher in a new, bipartisan army of industry-friendly lawmakers across the House and Senate.

Who are they?

As many as 13 new pro-crypto candidates could ascend to seats in the House next year with backing from the industry’s network of super PACs, which have spent big to promote allies and block critics in races across the country. The potential House members range from progressive Democrats who tout digital assets as a tool for financial inclusion to Republicans who bash the Biden administration’s crypto policy and say the technology can create “economic freedom.”

The Senate is expected to gain several pro-crypto members, including Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and John Curtis (R-Utah), who are all but guaranteed to win races in their respective states. Republicans in nearly every key battleground Senate contest are crypto proponents, meaning that any seats the GOP flips will deliver a new ally.

Regardless of who wins the presidency, the result of the 2024 elections is likely to be the most pro-crypto Congress ever — and one that could deliver the industry’s long-held lobbying priority of removing regulatory roadblocks. It’s a stunning rise, with crypto products being used by only a fraction of the U.S. population. But executives’ willingness to dump money into the political system — from their companies’ bank accounts and their own — has helped make politicians pay outsized attention to their cause.

“When it comes to new players on the scene, there has not been something to just explode like this — to go from an industry that spent very little to being arguably the biggest spender of the election cycle,” said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for communications at the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an ethics watchdog that tracks campaign finance issues.

Here’s a look at the crypto industry’s likely class of 2025 and how much its super PACs spent to support preferred candidates and stop opponents:

Spending from crypto super PACs could help boost as many as nine new Democrats to seats in the House next year. Inroads with the party could make a significant difference for future legislation because key Democrats are at odds over the potential risks and benefits of crypto products.

Crypto groups spent big in an array of Democratic primaries to ensure that nominees for winnable open seats would support the sector’s lobbying goals. Top beneficiaries include Shomari Figures of Alabama, Emily Randall of Washington, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Julie Johnson of Texas and Eugene Vindman of Virginia.

The crypto super PAC Protect Progress has spent $2.6 million boosting Figures, who won a crowded Democratic primary in March and now hopes to represent a redrawn district around Montgomery, Alabama.

Figures’ resume makes him an unlikely crypto ally. He previously served in the Biden Justice Department and on the staff of Sen. Sherrod Brown, a leading crypto critic. But Figures’ campaign website features several industry talking points. It says Figures will “embrace the new landscape around digital assets, like cryptocurrency, to stimulate innovation and technological advancement.” It also pledges to support “a framework that responsibly addresses regulatory concerns around cryptocurrency” and to “encourage reasonable regulation to protect consumers, investors and our economy.”

Protect Progress also spent $1.4 million backing Randall, a Washington state senator who is poised to become the first openly LGBTQ+ Latina elected to Congress after defeating the state’s commissioner of public lands, Hilary Franz, in an August primary.

Franz’s campaign blasted the crypto industry’s spending in the race. Randall’s website says she believes “in the importance of driving technological innovation and economic growth, including through blockchain technology and the digital asset industry.”

Ansari, a 32-year-old former member of the Phoenix city council, benefited from $1.3 million in crypto super PAC spending that helped her eke out a 39-vote win in a Democratic primary to represent Rep. Ruben Gallego’s dark blue Phoenix-area district. Her website says she will “lead the way in … blockchain and crypto innovation” by “establishing guidelines to innovate” that will “protect consumers and create more equitable access for all.”

Ansari spokesperson Jessica Andrews said in a statement that “Yassamin believes the industry needs both a smart regulatory framework to ensure working Americans are protected, as well as support for the technology and innovation that drives this country and keeps jobs at home.”

Protect Progress backed several progressive candidates who could bolster support for the crypto industry on the left, including Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride, who is poised to become the first-ever openly transgender member of Congress.

Crypto groups also spent more than $3.4 million opposing high-profile progressive Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York, who lost their primaries. In May, the lawmakers voted against industry-backed legislation that critics said would go too far to ease regulatory hurdles in crypto markets.

“What I know about the folks who will be coming to Congress is you’re going to have a lot more forward-looking people who understand that digital innovation is really important for our economy,” said Rep. Wiley Nickel, a leading pro-crypto Democrat from North Carolina.

The super PACs’ efforts across California, Michigan and Arizona could help usher in as many as three new pro-crypto Democratic senators.

The super PAC network’s first major foray this election cycle was a $10 million campaign in California’s Democratic Senate primary designed to take down Rep. Katie Porter, a finance industry critic who has a limited record on digital asset issues, and boost Rep. Adam Schiff, who is pro-crypto.

In general election Senate races, it has spent a combined $20 million backing Gallego in Arizona and Rep. Elissa Slotkin in Michigan. The lawmakers voted in favor of industry-backed legislation in the House earlier this year, though they have a limited history on digital assets outside of those votes.

Republicans’ campaign to retain control of the House has gotten a major boost from the crypto industry, in particular candidates in key swing districts. The GOP has become increasingly pro-crypto in the last few years, with former President Donald Trump promising to turn the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet.”

Crypto super PACs’ top House GOP targets have been incumbents who are in tough re-election races, including California Reps. Michelle Steel, David Valadao and Mike Garcia.

In total, the super PACs have backed 24 GOP House candidates, including eight non-incumbents.

“There’ll be a lot more progress next year,” said Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), a pro-crypto member of the House Financial Services Committee who has received backing from one of the super PACs. “The people that have been naysayers on crypto are going to find that there’s a lot more members that are educated on it and want to go for it.”

Ohio’s Senate race is the crypto world’s biggest — and riskiest — gamble of the 2024 cycle.

The crypto super PAC Defend American Jobs has spent more than $40 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno, a longtime crypto evangelist whose race against Senate Banking Chair Brown is critical to determining control of the upper chamber.

A win for Republicans in the Buckeye State would all but guarantee GOP control of the Senate. It would deliver a vocal ally in Moreno and eliminate one of the sector’s most powerful critics in Brown, who is a major roadblock to crypto-friendly legislation. But the Ohio spending spree also carries significant risk for the crypto firms. If Brown survives, he would likely remain the Banking Committee’s top Democrat and would potentially have a substantial impact on future policymaking.

Moreno, a former car dealer who has never held elected office, has a history with crypto. He has helped lead initiatives to turn Cleveland into a hub for startups that use blockchain, the digital ledger technology behind crypto, and founded his own blockchain venture. He has attacked Brown for his approach to crypto, saying the long-time progressive lawmaker has “no idea how digital currencies work and is the least qualified person possible to regulate the industry.”

While Moreno’s race has been the main spending target in favor of Senate Republicans, GOP wins in other critical battlegrounds would also bring in crypto-friendly faces.

Republican candidates in almost every closely watched race, including Mike Rogers of Michigan, Kari Lake of Arizona, Tim Sheehy of Montana, David McCormick of Pennsylvania, Eric Hovde of Wisconsin and Sam Brown of Nevada, have outlined pro-crypto views.

“If the Republicans take the Senate,” Flood said, “It’s game on.”