The CLARITY Act faces a new test as Democrats control Congress, raising questions over consumer protections, ethics and what the crypto industry may have to concede.

Crypto companies contributed $233 million to political committees during the 2026 US midterm cycle, according to Public Citizen’s analysis of federal filings.

Democrats won both chambers of Congress and will take control in January, giving them a chance to reshape the stalled CLARITY Act, a bill to set federal rules for crypto markets.

In Ohio, Democrat and longtime crypto skeptic Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Sen. Jon Husted despite crypto-backed political action committees spending $64 million to defeat him.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of crypto’s most vocal critics in Washington and the most senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is expected to chair the panel in the next Congress.

Stronger consumer protections, tougher scrutiny of political conflicts and a shift in regulatory power are all likely to be on the docket in the next round of negotiations.

But a Democratic majority doesn’t have to kill the prospect of crypto market structure legislation completely.

Democrat Congressman Shri Thanedar remains hopeful that the CLARITY Act can still pass, but says any legislation must include stronger ethics requirements. He tells Magazine:

Can the industry’s political influence still be converted into legislation, and what will it have to concede to get there?

The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act in September, with disagreements over ethics provisions contributing to the impasse.

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