What the 2026 Midterms Mean for Crypto, Banks and Stablecoin Regulation

Midterm elections saw a staggering $170 million spent by crypto political action committees (PACs) in a bid to sway the political landscape in favor of pro-crypto candidates. However, their efforts ultimately proved futile as several high-profile candidates lost, leading to questions about the effectiveness of such hefty investments.

According to Tech Influence Watch, an independent public-interest tracker, the roughly $260 million war chest of crypto PACs was primarily allocated to competitive races, where their candidates faced formidable odds and ultimately fell short.

Out of the $170 million, roughly $75 million was spent to support Republicans, while about $30 million was directed towards backing Democrats. The network also allocated around $36 million to oppose Democratic candidates, including in primary races. The majority of the funds were directed towards races that the PACs believed to be challenging, yet unfortunately, they came up empty-handed.

In Ohio, crypto PACs poured over $40 million into supporting incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted and another $24 million into opposing his Democratic challenger, Sherrod Brown. Brown's victory dealt a significant blow to crypto PACs, who had previously spent heavily to aid Republican Bernie Moreno in defeating him in 2024.

Wisconsin also saw a setback for the crypto PACs, as they spent nearly $2 million to back Republican incumbent Bryan Steil and oppose Democrat Mitchell Berman. Berman managed to defeat Steil in a surprising turn of events. In Texas, the industry spent $1.4 million to support Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton and oppose Democrat James Talarico, who emerged victorious.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed triumphed over Republican Mike Rogers, despite receiving roughly $810,000 in support from the pro-crypto Digital Freedom Fund run by the Winklevoss twins.

The midterms also proved to be a bitter pill for crypto PACs, who had enjoyed a relatively successful record in 2024. Their spending had helped elect congressional allies from both parties and defeat prominent industry critics. However, this year's results highlighted the challenges faced by the industry as the Senate blocked the Clarity Act in September, leaving its push for a regulatory framework for digital assets incomplete.

Despite these setbacks, not all was lost for the crypto PACs. In Nebraska, the Fairshake network managed to spend more than $13 million opposing independent Dan Osborn, ensuring the re-election of Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts to the Senate Banking Committee.