Crypto spent millions to defeat Sherrod Brown and elect allies. It's ready for a repeat in 2026

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — At a five-star resort tucked in the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the cryptocurrency industry was celebrating a historic start to the year on Capitol Hill. Its priorities were sailing through Congress with unusual speed and one senator did not hesitate to say why.

Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, was asked during the August panel what had changed to clear the way for such progress.

“I got to tell you,” said Scott, R-S.C. “Thank you, to all of y’all, for getting rid of Sherrod Brown," he said, referring to the Ohio Democrat who lost his Senate seat in 2024 to Republican Bernie Moreno.

Laughter and applause rippled through the room. “Literally, the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate,” he added, according to a video from the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.

In 2024, crypto interests poured more than $40 million into that race — more than four times their spending in any other Senate contest. Brown, who headed the committee when Democrats held the majority from 2021 to 2025, had long been one of Washington’s toughest critics of digital assets. That spending on behalf of Moreno, a businessman, sent a clear message: Challenge crypto, and the industry will come for you.

Brown, in a comeback bid, is seeking a fourth term next year, and Democrats are hopeful of their chances in an election without Republican President Donald Trump at the top of the ballot. But crypto has even more to spend this cycle and is enjoying a Congress that, without Brown, has turned sharply in its favor.

“We saw what happened in the last administration," Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, the nation’s largest crypto exchange, told The Associated Press. “We’re never gonna let that happen again.”

A pro-crypto Congress

In a striking reversal after the skepticism from Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, Congress this year has acted quickly to embrace the cryptocurrency industry after record spending in last year's election.

Lawmakers have passed legislation establishing new regulations and consumer protections for stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency typically tied to the U.S. dollar to limit volatility. Now, an even bigger priority for the industry — a broader bill aimed at clarifying how digital assets are regulated — is advancing through Congress.

From the White House, Trump has fully aligned himself with the industry, calling for the United States to become the “crypto capital of the world.” His family has also profited along the way, holding a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that launched its own stablecoin earlier this year.