This article is adapted from The Guide newsletter published on November 21st. For more insights, sign up here. Ben Weiss is a reporter for DL News based in Dubai. The opinions expressed here are solely his own.
Excitement is palpable among crypto leaders.
The election results aligned closely with the expectations of many in the crypto industry.
Donald Trump, who has referred to himself as the “crypto president,” emerged victorious over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race.
In Ohio, pro-crypto candidate Bernie Moreno clinched a Senate seat, defeating the skeptical incumbent, Sherrod Brown.
According to the lobbying group Stand With Crypto, a total of 268 candidates supportive of cryptocurrency secured victories in the House of Representatives, while only 122 opponents succeeded.
Industry leaders view these outcomes as a strong endorsement of pro-crypto initiatives.
“Voters have clearly expressed their desire for change on numerous issues,” stated Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, on X. “Cryptocurrency is definitely among them.”
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Cryptocurrency
I remain skeptical.
While cryptocurrencies did make an impact, I question whether a significant number of voters supported a single cryptocurrency enough to influence the election. The movement of industry funds is more significant.
During the 2024 election cycle, PACs focused on cryptocurrency amassed $197 million, based on tracking by cryptocurrency researcher Molly White.
Out of that total, $133 million was expended.
However, the funds were not necessarily utilized to boost cryptocurrency advocacy. Instead, they were predominantly directed towards promoting candidates who often did not emphasize crypto.
An Axios analysis revealed that none of the 59 political advertisements funded by the top three crypto PACs made any reference to decentralized technology.
Moreover, the campaign website for Moreno, which received over $40 million from crypto PACs, did not mention digital assets in its “About” or “Why I’m Running” sections.
Moreno’s campaign priorities primarily centered around topics like “communist China,” advocating for Second Amendment rights, and promoting reduced government expenditure.
Exit Poll
I am challenging the results from industry-sponsored polls suggesting a notable segment of single-stock crypto voters.
Nonetheless, as someone immersed in the crypto community, I believe the election was fundamentally centered on perennial voter concerns: the economy, immigration, and inflation.
The proportion of voters rating the U.S. economy as “not so good or bad” surged from 50% in 2020 to 68% in 2024, according to an NBC exit poll.
Additionally, immigration emerged as a critical issue, with Trump flipping counties along the Texas-Mexico border to Republican for the first time in decades, according to the Financial Times.
Perhaps that explains why Moreno’s ads, financed by Crypto PAC, emphasized his support for Trump’s economic policies while vowing to tackle “rampant inflation” and curb “illegal immigration,” but did not mention cryptocurrencies.
For inquiries, please contact bweiss@dlnews.com.
