Crypto Industry Sees Its Most Vocal Enemies Claw Back Power
The crypto industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars during the midterm election cycle, just for anti-crypto Democrats to become more ascendant.
Sean Moran · Nov 8, 2026 · 7 min read
The crypto industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars during the midterm election cycle, just for anti-crypto Democrats to become more ascendant.
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. 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.
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.
“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.
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. 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.
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.
Brown’s return to Congress would likely hinder the future advancement of crypto 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.
Despite the loss in that prominent race, he argued that Americans were focused on more salient issues such as AI and data centers.