US Crypto Industry Reacts Positively to Trump’s Re-election and Pro-crypto Majorities in Congress
The US crypto industry is welcoming the re-election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States, along with Republican gains across Congress. According to data compiled by Stand With Crypto, 247 pro-crypto candidates won seats in the House of Representatives, compared to 113 anti-crypto members.
The Senate also leans toward crypto, with 15 supporters and 10 opponents, as per data from Stand With Crypto, a crypto advocacy group launched by Coinbase. This victory, coupled with pro-crypto majorities in both the Senate and House, has industry insiders optimistic about the potential for clear and supportive regulation.
The House’s larger membership provides diverse representation and typically initiates legislation, while the Senate, with its smaller, more conservative body, often moderates these proposals. With the House and Senate both leaning pro-crypto, the path to favorable legislation could be smoother. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong hailed the election outcome as a watershed moment for crypto.
“Welcome to the new members of America’s most pro-crypto Congress ever,” Armstrong tweeted. A significant victory for crypto lobbyists was the defeat of Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a vocal crypto critic and head of the Senate Banking Committee, by Republican Bernie Moreno. Brown’s loss followed a record-breaking $40 million pro-crypto campaign by Fairshake.
Armstrong called Brown’s defeat an example of how “being anti-crypto is simply bad politics.”
During his campaign, Trump advocated himself as a pro-crypto leader, pledging support for the industry. His promises include creating a Bitcoin reserve, encouraging US-based mining, and opposing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Peter Kris, CEO of Gasp, believes that “a Trump victory could lead to clearer regulation that would create a safer environment for institutional players to engage with the industry.”
However, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a long-time advocate for stricter regulation, secured a decisive re-election in Massachusetts despite a well-funded challenge from pro-crypto Republican candidate John Deaton, who drew huge industry support.
Crypto markets, particularly Bitcoin (BTC), are likely to see increased volatility in the coming days as investors react to the political shift. Bitfinex analysts told Decrypt that they expect volatility to be high in the first 10 days of November, leading up to and following the election, as Bitcoin often rises amid political uncertainty.
Bitcoin is currently trading at around $73,000, up 7.4% on the day, per data from CoinGecko.
