40 million dollars helped the Republican Party secure the Senate, and the cryptocurrency industry bought half of Congress in this election$40 Million

On November 6, according to data from the Stand With Crypto website initiated by Coinbase, a total of 247 pro-crypto candidates won House seats, while only 113 members opposed cryptocurrency. The Stand With Crypto website also shows that the Senate leans towards supporting cryptocurrency, with 15 supporters and 10 opponents.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong praised the results of this congressional election as a watershed moment for cryptocurrency, stating on Twitter: "Welcome the new members of Congress who are the most pro-crypto in U.S. history."

The House of Representatives, being larger and more diverse, typically initiates legislation, while the smaller and more conservative Senate usually reviews proposals put forth by the House. With both the House and Senate leaning towards supporting cryptocurrency, the path for favorable legislation may be smoother, and crypto insiders are optimistic about the potential for supportive regulation from the U.S. Congress in the future.

This situation would not be possible without the significant financial contributions from those in the crypto industry.

$40 Million Boosts Campaigns, Crypto Lobbying Funds Become the "Key Tie Breaker" for Republicans to Win the Senate

On November 6, Ohio car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur, Republican Bernie Moreno, defeated Senate Banking Committee Chairman and strong cryptocurrency critic, Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. This allowed the Democrats to narrowly win the Senate with a 51 to 49 majority, and Moreno's victory can be seen as a guarantee for the Republicans to regain control of the upper chamber, making it one of the most expensive Senate campaigns of the year.

Victory Bought with Money

This campaign not only had the support of Trump and his campaign team but also received backing from several crypto companies, executives, and investors, spending $40 million to help Moreno secure his seat. According to Coindesk, Federal Election Commission documents show that this largest single campaign expenditure from the digital asset industry was funded by Fairshake PAC and its affiliated organizations (especially Defend American Jobs), far exceeding the $12 million initially invested by the organization in Ohio's primaries. These funds were primarily used to support Moreno's advertising campaign, marking the highest amount spent by any group in this critical battleground.

Since Fairshake got involved in the election in August, Ohio voters' attitudes towards Moreno have significantly improved. An industry poll showed that at the beginning of August, Moreno had a support rate of 39.6% among likely voters, while Brown had 48.3%. According to ongoing polling statistics from political analysis site FiveThirtyEight.com, since Fairshake's actions in Ohio, Moreno's support rate has increased by 2.3 percentage points.

By November 6, Bernie Moreno received majority support in the final election, winning a crucial battle for the Republicans. Meanwhile, Senator Tim Scott (Republican from South Carolina) may become the next chairman. Although Scott's stance on crypto has been relatively low-profile, he recently publicly supported digital asset innovation at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville and stated at the SALT conference in Wyoming that if elected chairman, he might establish a dedicated crypto subcommittee.

Super PACs like Fairshake can only support candidates through so-called independent expenditures—advertising and other services that are not directly associated with or approved by the campaign team. In some campaigns, Fairshake spent millions on negative ads against candidates who do not support pro-crypto policies, but in this campaign, the ads were positive, aimed at supporting Moreno.

Who is Bernie Moreno, Selling His Company All In Blockchain?

Interestingly, the key seat winner Bernie Moreno is not just a pro-crypto politician but a genuine crypto practitioner.

Moreno's spokesperson Reagan McCarthy told The Washington Post, "Bernie is not like Sherrod Brown, who doesn't know the difference between blockchain and a chainsaw. Bernie has a deep understanding of this technology and knows how to ensure its development in the U.S. and will work hard to ensure America leads the world."

In 2019, Cleveland-based car dealership mogul Moreno sold seven of his car franchises, keeping only two, to support his other company, the crypto project Ownum, which provides digital vehicle ownership products.

In 2018, Moreno launched a project called "Blockland," aimed at making Cleveland a blockchain technology hub, while simultaneously founding the crypto project Ownum. Ownum is engaged in developing technological products that can digitize and replace paper government processes.

In April 2019, Moreno was appointed as a member of the Ohio Innovation Council's executive committee. At the time of Moreno's appointment, Ownum announced its first product, a paperless blockchain project for vehicle ownership called CHAMPtitles.

Moreno also served as an advisor to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, during which CHAMPtitles gained the opportunity to collaborate with the Bureau to digitize the vehicle ownership transfer process, providing significant business growth opportunities for CHAMPtitles.

In September 2019, Moreno was nominated to the board of the Cleveland public hospital system MetroHealth. In October, Ownum's second product, Vital Chain—providing blockchain-based birth and death certificates—successfully partnered with MetroHealth, becoming its first client.

Later, Moreno resigned from the board while preparing for his first Senate campaign, but these past experiences were used by Moreno's political opponents as evidence that he is not a "political outsider."

Ratio of Friends to Foes Close to 1:3, Welcome to the Most Pro-Crypto Congress in U.S. History

As Trump secured 270 votes, the U.S. crypto industry was celebrating a significant victory. After the election, a meme of current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler quickly spread throughout the crypto community.

This was due to a promise Trump made to the crypto community during this year's election campaign: if elected the 47th President of the United States, he would fire the SEC chairman, who is hostile to the crypto industry.

To win this election, Trump aggressively courted crypto industry figures, becoming a Bitcoin advocate. At the Bitcoin 2024 event held in Nashville in July, Trump mentioned that if he wins, he would implement a series of pro-crypto policies to ensure that the U.S. becomes the world's crypto center and a Bitcoin superpower. This includes firing the current SEC chairman Gary Gensler, appointing a cryptocurrency presidential advisory committee, and designating Bitcoin as a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the U.S.

Related Article: " Trump Becomes the First 'Bitcoin President' in U.S. History "

After Trump won the election, many industry insiders began to hold an optimistic view of more clear and supportive regulatory policies for the future of the industry. Of course, replacing a president with a pro-crypto stance and firing an anti-crypto chairman does not fundamentally change the pressure cryptocurrency faces in U.S. politics. What truly excites institutions and various practitioners is the imminent arrival of a new "pro-crypto Congress" in the U.S.

According to Stand With Crypto data, in this election, a total of 261 pro-crypto candidates won House seats, while only 116 members opposed cryptocurrency. At the same time, the new Senate is also more supportive of cryptocurrency, with 17 supporters and 12 opponents.

After the election results were announced, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong praised the congressional election results as a watershed moment for the development of cryptocurrency, calling it "the most pro-crypto Congress in U.S. history."

Of course, not the entire Congress shows a one-sided trend towards cryptocurrency. In the Senate, although pro-crypto Republican candidate John Deaton received significant support from the crypto industry, he ultimately lost to the more seasoned Elizabeth Warren, who has a stronger political background and resources. This long-time "enemy" of the crypto industry has consistently advocated for increased regulation, and after successfully being re-elected as a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, she has become one of the few "tough nuts to crack" for the crypto industry in the Senate.

In fact, prior to this election, the Republican Party had already begun to push towards forming a "pro-crypto government." Polling data shows that currently, 28% of Republicans own or have purchased cryptocurrency, and 60% of Republicans favor Congress clarifying crypto regulations. The FIT21 bill passed by Congress this year was also led and promoted by Republicans.

In May of this year, the FIT21 bill passed the House with a vote of 279 to 136. This bill establishes a regulatory framework for digital assets and could become one of the most far-reaching pieces of legislation affecting crypto. FIT21, short for the "Financial Innovation and Technology Act of the 21st Century," is crucial in regulating the framework for digital assets, providing guidance for future applications for spot ETFs and compliance pathways for more crypto assets.

With the Republicans successfully controlling both the House and Senate, they will undoubtedly become a powerful political party unmatched by previous administrations. Regardless, the new Congress has paved the way for a series of crypto-friendly bills to pass.

U.S. Politics Enters the "Crypto Gold Rush" Era

With the Republican Party leaning towards the pro-crypto camp and Congress leaning towards the Republicans, this is not a coincidence. It is certain that U.S. politics is entering a new "crypto gold rush" era.

In June of this year, Trump held a fundraising event at the home of David Sacks, a friend of Peter Thiel, in San Francisco's wealthy district, during which he portrayed himself as the "crypto president," fiercely criticizing the Democratic Party's regulatory hostility towards the industry and stating that he would stop Gensler's crackdown on the crypto industry "within an hour of taking office." Ultimately, Trump raised $12 million from this event.

Related Article: " Silicon Valley Shifts Right: Peter Thiel, A16Z, and the Political Ambitions of Cryptocurrency "

According to political donation tracking platform OpenSecret, this year, political action committees from the cryptocurrency industry have invested over $133 million in elections, intervening in 51 campaigns, primarily to help candidates who promise not to impose strict regulations on cryptocurrencies. The three main PACs are Fairshake, Protect Progress, and Defend American Jobs.

Fairshake's ads almost never mention cryptocurrency, blockchain, or the tech industry. Instead, they focus on the candidates—such as praising Moreno's family and his views on the energy industry, which align with Trump's.

In February 2024, Fairshake spent $10 million attacking the integrity of Katie Porter, a candidate for the California Senate vacancy, because Porter had voted against pro-crypto legislation. As a result, Porter lost in the primary to Congressman Adam Schiff.

The cryptocurrency industry sees this as a validation of its strategy: to spend money supporting friends while also spending to undermine enemies.

Fairshake also played a significant role in the primary defeats of New York Congress members Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, spending $2 million against Bowman and $1.4 million against Bush. In the Utah Republican primary, Fairshake invested $3.4 million to support John Curtis, defeating Trent Staggs, and pro-crypto Curtis won the Utah Senate seat.

Since the beginning of this year, U.S. crypto companies and investment institutions, led by Coinbase, Ripple, a16z, and Jump Crypto, have finally ushered in a foreseeable optimistic outlook for the industry through financial contributions.

Just two days before the election, a16z partner Chris Dixon announced on social media that he had donated over $23 million to Fairshake and its affiliated political action committees (PACs) for the 2026 midterm election cycle.

Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong stated that Coinbase and a16z have provided additional funding support to Fairshake, which has invested approximately $78 million in the 2026 midterm elections. The Stand With Crypto website, which he founded, currently has 1.9 million supporters, with a goal of increasing that number to 4 million by the 2026 midterm elections.

Armstrong noted that Stand With Crypto also plans to expand its influence internationally, stating, "The crypto industry hopes to promote similar rules at the G20 or in a broader international context. Only through global adoption can cryptocurrency revolutionize the global financial system and enhance economic freedom."

In the first half of 2022, the SEC issued SAB121 (Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121), forcing banks to shy away from crypto custody services. In April of this year, the anti-SAB121 bill passed both the Senate and the House with bipartisan support but was vetoed by current President Biden. With the rise of Trump and his pro-crypto government, the opening of a new compliance era for cryptocurrency seems to be an increasingly certain event.