Democrats Take Congress: Crypto’s “Cross-Partisan Support” Compile Error Begins

Democrats won control of the US Senate, bringing the chamber to 51 seats for Democrats and independents who caucus with them after Iowa Democrat Josh Turek won his race, according to the Associated Press. NBC News projected Democrats would flip at least six Senate seats, including contests in Texas and Ohio, while the 2026 midterms placed all 435 House seats and 35 Senate races before voters. Republicans entered the election controlling 219 House seats and 53 Senate seats; Democrats needed a net gain of three House seats and four Senate seats to take control.

The result could reshape the stalled CLARITY Act, which failed a Senate procedural vote 49–50 on Sept. 15 because it lacked the required 60 votes. The bill would divide oversight of crypto markets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and establish rules for intermediaries. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner cited insufficient safeguards against Trump profiting from his administration’s crypto policies, while Republican sponsors said their final draft incorporated substantial ethics concessions sought by Democrats.

Crypto industry groups spent approximately $176 million across more than 100 races during the 2026 election cycle, according to Reuters. Fairshake, backed by Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz, led spending through affiliated super PACs Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress. Ohio’s Senate race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown attracted approximately $63 million in crypto industry spending, including about $56 million from Fairshake and $7 million from the Winklevoss-backed Digital Freedom Fund. Defend American Jobs reported spending $36.9 million supporting Husted and $19.7 million opposing Brown, while the Digital Freedom Fund supported Republican Ken Paxton in Texas.

Prediction markets had favored a Democratic sweep before voting, with Kalshi traders assigning a 93% chance of a House win and a 75% chance of taking the Senate, while Polymarket priced those outcomes at 94.5% and 75.5%, respectively, as of 4:30 p.m. UTC Monday. Nearly $1.9 billion in election-related contracts had traded on Kalshi and Polymarket as of Monday, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour cautioned that “a 5% probability doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

Despite the election result, Maylea Ma, deputy general counsel at 1inch, said federal agencies are likely to drive the next phase of US crypto regulation. “The long-term goal, of course, remains a statute that cannot be reversed every time a government changes,” Ma said. Jerome de Tychey, president of Ethereum France and co-founder of EthCC, warned that bipartisan support remains necessary: “It’s too early to say exactly what this means for crypto, but one thing is clear: nothing will pass without cross-partisan support.”

Market reaction included volatility in $BTC and US futures. Bitcoin fell to about $75,695 before trading near $77,607 in early Wednesday trading, up 1.3% over 24 hours and just below its 24-hour high of $77,965, according to CoinGecko. S&P 500 futures were down 1.25% by 11:24 p.m. ET before narrowing to roughly 0.5% below Tuesday’s settlement, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 2.26% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.77%.