The seat oversees the SEC and CFTC, and the industry is trying to take down the "crypto enemy."

Written by: Azuma, Odaily Planet Daily

The U.S. elections will officially begin later today, but aside from the highly anticipated presidential election, a certain important seat's campaign is also drawing significant attention from the cryptocurrency industry. Overseas lobbying organizations have even invested tens of millions of dollars in hopes that a "challenger" can take down the high-ranking "crypto enemy."

This important campaign is for the Senate seat in Ohio, with the candidates being the incumbent senator, Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, and Republican candidate Bernie Moreno.

The reason this seat's campaign is of great interest to the industry is that Brown currently holds the position of Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which is one of the most influential committees in the Senate. This committee has jurisdiction over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) … It goes without saying that those familiar with the industry know the regulatory impact these two agencies have on cryptocurrency.

As the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Brown has significant influence over which bills need to be submitted for committee review or brought to a vote in Congress. However, Brown himself is an extreme opponent of cryptocurrency, causing a large number of cryptocurrency-related bills to be shelved in the committee. The industry generally believes this severely hinders the positive development of the sector.

Sherrod Brown

In contrast, "challenger" Moreno has already made cryptocurrency a core part of his campaign, even vowing to fight against those who seek to "destroy cryptocurrency."

Bernie Moreno

CoinDesk reported in September that the cryptocurrency industry's Political Action Committee (PAC) has invested a significant amount of money in the Ohio Senate campaign to support Moreno against Brown. As of September 27, 2024, the PAC funded by Coinbase and Ripple Labs has invested $40 million to support Moreno, a massive expenditure that has allowed Moreno to quickly catch up to Brown in the polls, with some polls even showing Moreno in the lead.

RealClearPolitics polling data shows that Moreno (48%) is slightly ahead of Brown (46.3%) by about 1.7 percentage points, making the campaign situation still quite tense.

Ron Hammond, Director of Government Relations at the Blockchain Association, stated in an interview with The Block that the Ohio Senate campaign may be the most important congressional seat campaign for the cryptocurrency industry.

Considering Ohio's swing state status, if Moreno successfully defeats Brown, it would significantly increase the probability of the Republican Party holding a majority in the Senate. At that time, North Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott is likely to succeed Brown as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Scott has recently expressed support for cryptocurrency and has attended the Nashville Bitcoin Conference.

Conversely, if Moreno fails to defeat Brown and the Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, then Brown is likely to remain in his position, continuing his current stance and influence over cryptocurrency.

Of course, there are also two low-probability scenarios. The first is that the Republicans hold a majority in the Senate while Moreno loses; in this case, Scott could still potentially become Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee due to the Republican seat advantage. The second scenario is that the Democrats hold a majority in the Senate while Moreno wins; in this case, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is likely to succeed Brown, and Warren also opposes cryptocurrency.

In summary, Moreno's challenge to Brown could very well determine the future outcome of the Senate Banking Committee chairmanship. As long as Moreno secures Ohio, the Republicans will have a greater chance of gaining an advantage in the Senate, thereby ending Brown's high-pressure regulatory stance on cryptocurrency.

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