Crypto super PACs spent more than $176 million on the midterms, but the Democratic sweep raises the prospect of tougher industry scrutiny.

Two years after crypto money helped drive Sherrod Brown out of the Senate, roughly $64 million couldn’t keep him from returning.

Brown’s victory over Republican Jon Husted in Ohio delivered the industry its biggest electoral loss of the 2026 midterms as Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. The sweep also puts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of crypto’s fiercest critics, in line to chair the Senate Banking Committee.

Crypto super PACs spent about $176 million across 100 seats during the election cycle, including primaries, according to Reuters, up from more than $130 million in 2024. Fairshake and its affiliated PACs accounted for $154.5 million across 89 races.

“The next Congress will bring a fundamentally different environment for crypto in Washington, and the industry should expect significantly more scrutiny,” Kyle Bligen, executive director at the Decentralization Research Center, told Cointelegraph.

Fairshake, meanwhile, is left with more than $67 million heading to the 2028 elections. “Newly elected and current members will have a choice: protect consumers and American jobs or fight progress,” spokesperson Geoff Vetter told Cointelegraph in an email. “We will be watching and ‘28 is a new map.”

Ohio was the industry’s biggest bet as crypto PACs put more than $64 million into keeping Senator Jon Husted in office. His opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, won the special election to complete former Sen. JD Vance’s term, which ends in January 2029.

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