Democrats took control of the US Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections on November 3 after flipping six Republican-held seats. The result reshapes the outlook for the stalled CLARITY Act, the crypto market structure bill, and decides who chairs the committees overseeing the industry.
How the Senate was decided
Democrats and the independents who caucus with them now hold 51 seats. The majority was locked in when Democrat Josh Turek won the Iowa race.
- Republican seats flipped: Texas,
Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas and Iowa
- A Democratic Senate picks the lawmakers who lead committees overseeing crypto
- Confirmation of future presidential nominees to regulatory posts now runs through a Democratic Senate
Democratic control could also bring more congressional scrutiny of Trump-linked crypto businesses and of regulators' decisions.
What happens to the CLARITY Act
Jerome de Tychey, president of Ethereum France and co-founder of EthCC, noted that the CLARITY Act failed its Senate procedural vote 49 to 50 in September. "If it isn't passed by January, the next Congress starts again from scratch," he said.
"It's too early to say exactly what this means for crypto, but one thing is clear: nothing will pass without cross-partisan support," de Tychey added. The industry, he said, will have to go back to the table and make the case for blockchain again on substance.
- Conflict-of-interest rules: a Democratic demand already in force in Europe under MiCA
- Customer protection obligations: something de Tychey says a mature industry should welcome
- The risk he flags: crypto becoming a partisan issue in the US, which "could set the US back several years"
Fred Hsu, co-founder and CEO of D3, a core contributor to Doma Protocol, said in comments provided ahead of the election that the industry can't rely on one party and should be making its case to lawmakers on both sides.
Where the market stands
As of 06:25 UTC, Bitcoin traded at $77,771, up 1.68% over 24 hours but 3.94% below its level a week ago, according to CoinGecko data.
Coin | Price | 24h | 7d | ATH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BTC | $77,771 | +1.68% | -3.94% | $126,080 |
ETH | $2,291.42 | +2.07% | -2.57% | $4,946.05 |
24h trading volume stood at $29.39B for BTC and $10.24B for ETH. BTC market cap is $1.56T, and the price remains 38.3% below the all-time high of $126,080.