Crypto industry lobbying strategy gains ground in Washington amid 2028 policy risks

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Crypto lobbying gains ground

Highlights

The crypto industry's shift to sustained bipartisan lobbying secured milestones including SAB 121's repeal and GENIUS becoming the first federal stablecoin statute.
Regulators like the SEC and CFTC are actively filling policy gaps with new rules and exemptions due to Congress's failure to pass comprehensive market-structure legislation.
Potential Democratic gains in the House and Senate post-midterms increase uncertainty for industry-backed legislation, making agency actions pivotal through at least 2028.

Washington strategy and recent policy gains

As first reported by CoinDesk, the commentary says the crypto sector moved away from fighting regulators solely through the courts and instead built a longer-term presence in Washington through bipartisan outreach, candidate briefings and policy work by industry groups. It cites organizations including the Blockchain Association, DeFi Education Fund, Stand With Crypto, Crypto Council for Innovation, American Innovation Project and Solana Policy Institute as regular participants in congressional engagement and legislative feedback.

The article argues that this approach is producing results in Congress. It points to bipartisan votes involving SAB 121, the broker rule, CLARITY and GENIUS, and says the repeal of the broker rule became the first crypto-specific law in U.S. history, while GENIUS became the first federal stablecoin statute.

It also says regulators are continuing to fill gaps while Congress has not yet passed a full market-structure framework. The SEC has issued Regulation Crypto and an innovation exemption, the CFTC has proposed a new structure for trading crypto on regulated exchanges, and agencies are implementing rules tied to GENIUS, all under current Republican leadership.

Election uncertainty and the industry's next phase

The piece says the current congressional alignment that supported recent crypto measures may give way to a less predictable one after the midterm elections. It argues that a possible Democratic gain in the House, and potentially the Senate, could create a split between moderates from more business-friendly districts and a progressive wing that is more skeptical of financial services and emerging technologies.

In the Senate, the commentary says neither party is likely to secure the kind of supermajority needed to push through sweeping changes alone. That could make major industry-backed legislation harder to pass, while still allowing crypto supporters to block more restrictive proposals and leaving agencies such as the SEC and CFTC to drive much of the policy agenda over the next two years.

Looking ahead to 2028, the article presents the presidential race as a critical turning point because future agency leaders could reverse recent gains if market-structure legislation is still unfinished. It calls for the industry to engage early with both parties, backing pro-innovation leadership among Republicans while identifying potential Democratic allies and candidates for top roles at the SEC, CFTC and Treasury.

Our earlier article on the surge in Republican midterm-election advertising spending detailed how tightening polls pushed the GOP to ramp up ad outlays across Senate and House races, including in contests once viewed as safe. We also noted how high fuel costs and broader affordability pressures were weighing on the political environment and forcing campaign strategists to reallocate resources toward the most competitive battlegrounds.

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