For the blockchain industry, finding political allies who love crypto hasn’t always been the easiest task.
The United States election on Nov. 5 may flip that dynamic as 2024 looks to be a landmark year for the industry, at least from a political perspective.
We examine which politicians have swiped right on crypto and made a love match and those who sadly, and perhaps unwisely, swiped left.
First, our crypto lovers…
Cynthia Lummis
Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has long been one of crypto’s staunchest supporters within the US political system.
Working with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lummis brought forward the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act in 2022 and the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act in April.
Senator Cynthia Lummis with Bitcoin laser eyes. Source: Senator Cynthia Lummis
“Passing a regulatory framework for stablecoins is absolutely critical to maintaining the US dollar’s dominance, promoting responsible innovation, protecting consumers and cracking down on money laundering and illicit finance,” said Gillibrand.
In July, Lummis went further, announcing her Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill. This seems, at least partly, to have influenced former President Donald Trump’s thinking on Bitcoin, which adds to the evidence that Lummis is one of crypto’s most important advocates in Washington.
Kirsten Gillibrand
While many of Senator Gillibrand’s contemporaries in the Democratic Party oppose Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, Gillibrand has taken a contrarian view.
As noted above, she has worked across the aisle with Lummis to bring forward both the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act and the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act.
Gillibrand debates her opponent Mike Sapraicone. Source: Austin Jefferson
Regarding stablecoins, Gillibrand said, “Passing a regulatory framework for stablecoins is absolutely critical to maintaining the US dollar’s dominance, promoting responsible innovation, protecting consumers and cracking down on money laundering and illicit finance.”
Patrick McHenry
Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has been a consistently strong ally for blockchain and cryptocurrencies, using his positions as chair of the House Financial Services Committee to cosponsor crypto-friendly legislation, including the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21).
McHenry’s profile on the crypto advocacy site Stand With Crypto. Source: Stand With Crypto
In August, McHenry took to X to say, “The House has done its work by passing the bipartisan #FIT21 with 2/3rds voting in support back in May. Senate action on digital asset market structure is long overdue.”
Unfortunately for the industry, McHenry is not standing for reelection in 2024. McHenry has cited the high cost of maintaining two homes (one in North Carolina and one in Washington) among the reasons for his political retirement.
Ted Cruz
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is facing a tight battle in his home state of Texas against Democratic rival Colin Allred.
Luckily for Cruz, his support for cryptocurrencies and crypto mining has won favor from the industry, including from Bitcoin mining company Marathon.
One of the reasons I’m bullish on #Bitcoin is because it’s decentralized.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 25, 2022
The Left hates Bitcoin because they can’t control it. #CPAC2022 pic.twitter.com/D4PYNacNBZ
“Ted Cruz has been a Bitcoin champion for a very long time and protecting his seat is a top priority,” Jayson Browder, Marathon senior vice president of government affairs and social responsibility, told Cointelegraph.
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The Bitcoin Freedom PAC gave $350,000 to the Truth and Courage PAC, a committee working to ensure Cruz’s reelection.
Cruz currently maintains a narrow lead over his rival in the polls. According to one conducted by The New York Times on Oct. 23-26, Cruz leads Democrat Colin Allred by 50% to 46%.
Former President Donald Trump
Trump hasn’t always been the greatest fan of cryptocurrency, but with the industry lobbying like never before and with other presidential candidates — including Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — making political capital from beating the drum for blockchain, Trump has found multiple reasons to reassess his opinion.
Speaking at the Bitcoin Nashville conference in July, Trump said the US should be the “crypto capital of the planet.”
The biggest cheer came the night when Trump promised to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler “on day one” if reelected.
Donald Trump says “If you’re in favor of Crypto, you better vote for Trump” pic.twitter.com/5AGYIfsNOg
— Randi Hipper (@missteencrypto) May 9, 2024
Crypto whales are betting big on a Trump victory in November, although whether this is based on sober analysis or wishful thinking is another matter.
And now, on to the crypto haters…
Elizabeth Warren
It’s no secret that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is not the world’s biggest fan of cryptocurrency.
The senator from Masscheutts is the author of the unloved and, as yet, unpassed Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023.
She has said that she’d like to work with the industry, while still raising a few concerns.
“What I don’t understand is why the industry seems to be saying that the only way that they can survive is if there’s plenty of space for the drug traffickers and the human traffickers — oh, and the terrorist, and the ransomware scammer and the consumer scammers,” Warren said in February before adding, “North Korea is financing about half of its nuclear missile program with crypto.”
Elizabeth Warren goes on the attack against crypto at the Massachusetts Senate debate.
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) October 17, 2024
Then she gets *BLINDSIDED* by her opponent's question on covering up for Jeffrey Epstein 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Xx80mI36tA
Warren’s opponent in this year’s election is Republican pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton.
In a debate earlier this month, Deaton accused Warren of being too cozy with JPMorgan and ignoring its links with disgraced former business mogul Jeffrey Epstein.
Still, Warren is popular in her home state and Deaton’s bid for Senate is viewed as a political longshot.
Lindsey Graham
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is one of the notable backers of Elizabeth Warren’s Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.
In September 2023, Graham outlined his reasons for supporting the act, leaning heavily on the same sort of links to criminal activity that Warren cites.
Graham stumping for fellow Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio. Source: Lindsey Graham
“All too often crypto is used to move illicit funds for drug cartels, criminal gangs, terrorist groups and kidnappers,” Graham said. “Our legislation will help create transparency and provide oversight in an industry that in many cases helps facilitate criminal activity.”
While opinions on cryptocurrency are often portrayed as splitting along party lines, anti-crypto Republicans like Graham are a reminder that the picture is often more complex.
Bernie Sanders
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is not the most outspoken of crypto’s critics — Stand With Crypto says that he has made just two public statements on the matter — but he has previously sided with the efforts of Democratic allies, including Elizabeth Warren.
Sanders at an event about lowering prescription drug cost with US President Joe Biden. Source: Bernie Sanders
In August 2023, he co-signed an Elizabeth Warren letter calling on the IRS to close a so-called “$50 billion crypto tax gap.”
In 2022 he was quoted saying quite simply: “I’m not a big fan of cryptocurrencies.”
Brad Sherman
Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) of California has a simple message on cryptocurrency. He says, “Cryptocurrency means ‘hidden money’ — its goal is right there in the name.”
In a speech in April of this year, Sherman said that cryptocurrency “Was the one thing the Biden-Harris administration agreed with Donald Trump on.”
Sherman went on to lament Trump’s newfound love of cryptocurrency, which he claimed only came when Trump “realized he could get tens or hundreds of millions of dollars from the crypto billionaire bros if he were willing to change his position.”
Sherrod Brown
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is one of the most important incumbents in Washington. Brown holds considerable power as chair of the Senate Banking Committee.
Brown also happens to be an outspoken critic of the crypto industry and has supported Warren in her efforts against it.
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In a February 2023 address to the Senate, Brown lamented that crypto ads during that year’s Super Bowl failed to mention the “fraud, scams, and outright theft” in the industry.
Many people think investing in cryptocurrency means big returns with zero risk.
— Senate Banking and Housing Democrats (@SenateBanking) July 28, 2022
But we’ve seen thousands of scams and spectacular blowups in the crypto markets, exposing how bad actors are costing Americans millions of dollars and putting their savings and livelihoods at risk. pic.twitter.com/K3wjzxrM5p
He went on to say that cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and stablecoins are “speculative products run by reckless companies that put Americans’ hard-earned money at risk.”
Brown faces stiff opposition for his Ohio seat from Republican businessman Bernie Moreno. The Defend American Jobs political action committee has spent more than $40 million on Moreno’s campaign.