Miami — Jesse Spiro, head of government affairs at Tether.io, said the crypto industry views the 2026 US midterm elections as a critical test of whether Washington’s recent embrace of digital assets will endure.
“What we’ve seen is good immersion and progress over the last year,” Spiro said during a panel discussion at the Consensus Miami 2026 conference, highlighting the passage of the GENIUS Act and progress on market structure legislation. “But like anything else, the apple cart can always get upset.”
Spiro warned that the election could have a “seismic impact” on the industry’s trajectory, even as cryptocurrency advocacy groups prepare to deploy significant political spending and grassroots organizing.
“Crypto should not be partisan,” Spiro said. “The best case scenario is that we have members who support the industry, the ecosystem and good policy.”
Other panelists argued that the industry’s political influence was only growing before November.
Colin McLaren, head of government relations at the Solana Policy Institute, said crypto policy efforts are now focused on “sustainability,” ensuring that the future of Congress continues to advance industry priorities, including tax reform and developer protections.
“You can put the down payment on a house, but you have to keep paying the mortgage,” McLaren said, referring to crypto campaign spending efforts after the industry invested hundreds of millions in the 2024 election cycle.
Mason Lynaugh, executive director of Stand With Crypto, said the group’s nearly 3 million members increasingly view elections as “a moment of accountability.”
“They’re going to show up and support the people who supported them,” Lynaugh said, adding that crypto voters are highly motivated and could influence close races. “If something is decided by 4,000 votes, 5,000 votes… all we have to do is reject them.”
Read more: Crypto is at the bottom of US voters’ priorities as elections approach, CoinDesk survey finds
