The cryptocurrency industry is preparing to spend big next year to protect the gains it made in November, when it deployed tens of millions in campaign cash to cement a favorable regulatory environment in Washington.

President Donald Trump not only won a second term in 2024, promising to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet,” but allied super PACs also succeeded in electing lawmakers in battlegrounds from Michigan to California.

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All told, crypto groups blanketed the 2024 map with some $130 million in advertising for, and against, lawmakers in both chambers. In Ohio alone, they spent $40 million to topple Sen. Sherrod Brown, the crypto-skeptical Banking Committee chairman.

The investments have raised the odds that Congress, today under unified GOP control, passes light-touch rules meant to bring the industry into the financial system’s mainstream. The Senate is currently considering a bill on stablecoins, a digital asset pegged to the dollar, while a broader “market structure” bill will be marked up in the House next week.

But crypto backers also have their eye on 2026, amassing a war chest meant to build on their newfound foothold. Within days of the November election, officials from Fairshake and other crypto super PACs were already projecting they had $78 million earmarked for midterm races, a sum that has grown considerably since then.

“In nominal dollars, it might be less, just because this isn’t a presidential election cycle, but I think it’ll be every bit as big, if not bigger, as it relates to congressional,” said Jason Thielman, the executive director of First Principles Digital, a new crypto super PAC aligned with Republicans.

The interventions have already begun in a spate of off-year special elections. A pair of pro-crypto Republicans won their Florida seats more comfortably in April thanks to a late investment by the super PAC Defend American Jobs.

At the same time, crypto cash has become a sign of viability as the primary field for 2026 begins to take shape. After struggling to attract crypto support in 2024, former Rep. Mike Rogers earned a multimillion-dollar commitment from First Principles on Thursday as he mounts a second run for Senate in Michigan with the backing of national Republicans.

Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), who is considering a primary challenge to Rogers, will be vying for other crypto money as vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

“Crypto invested pretty aggressively in primaries last cycle, and I suspect you will see the industry do so again,” said Thielman, the former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

He noted the almost $10 million spent to defeat former Rep. Katie Porter’s bid to become California’s next senator.

The crypto industry has been careful not to side with one political party, spending heavily on Democratic and Republican candidates in 2024. It gave $10 million to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), the second-highest amount doled out in a Senate campaign, in her race against Rogers.

In House races, powerful members of the Financial Services Committee in each party received as much as $2 million apiece to support their campaigns, according to a Washington Post review.

The upshot of those investments is that Congress is poised to enact sweeping changes to the banking system that would, for the first time, regulate the cryptocurrency industry. The current proposed framework is opposed by some Democrats, in part due to the Trump family’s personal investment in cryptocurrency, but enough will support the legislation to hand Republicans what could be a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

The GENIUS Act, a bill to regulate stablecoins, cleared a critical test vote last month with the help of 16 Senate Democrats, including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who prevailed over Porter in the California primary.

In the House, the Financial Services Committee is moving ahead with a more ambitious bill to regulate the crypto space over the objections of Democrats asking for more time to negotiate. The Senate is expected to consider companion legislation next, according to Politico, though the GENIUS Act has become bogged down over what some consider to be “poison pill” amendments.

Those legislative efforts are playing out against the backdrop of crypto advocacy on Capitol Hill. The nonprofit group Stand With Crypto mobilized advocates to send 60,000 emails to congressional offices ahead of the Senate’s GENIUS vote, per a spokesperson, and more than 60 founders have flown to Washington this year to speak with members on both ends of the Capitol.

Its most recent efforts are focused on the upcoming gubernatorial race in New Jersey, where it hosted a “get out the vote” event on Thursday night ahead of the Tuesday primary. The rally brought out Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and two other candidates for governor — Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, and radio host Bill Spadea, a Republican.

“Crypto voters are energized and eager to show elected officials and candidates alike that the 2024 elections were only the beginning,” Mason Lynaugh, the community director for Stand With Crypto, said in a statement.

“The momentum is growing every day and our sights are always on the next election and the next policy challenge,” Lynaugh added.

The GENIUS vote and others like it could become a liability for Democrats in a handful of battleground states. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), the front-running Democrat to replace Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in the Senate, has a “D” rating from Stand With Crypto, while Republicans will attempt to tie Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), running for reelection in Georgia, to broader resistance within the Democratic Party to current legislative efforts.

Ossoff currently has an “A” rating from Stand With Crypto and voted to advance the GENIUS Act last month.

In 2024, crypto groups blanketed the airwaves with advertisements that had nothing to do with their industry, instead supporting favored candidates on the issue sets that defined the election, largely the economy and the border.

But the voting records of each lawmaker will nonetheless serve as a signal to the industry, and Republicans are eager to present themselves as the more reliable partner to crypto investors.

“Democrats time and again refuse to stand with the crypto community when it matters most,” Nick Puglia, NRSC regional press secretary, said in a statement. “While anti-crypto activists Jon Ossoff and Chris Pappas fight against crypto progress, Republicans like Mike Rogers, Senator Collins, and Senator Lummis will continue fighting to fortify America’s digital asset future.” 

A spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee did not respond to a request for comment.

In the White House, Trump has so far pursued a pro-crypto agenda, appointing a friendly chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission who dropped lawsuits filed under President Joe Biden. Trump has simultaneously named a crypto czar and elevated digital assets with the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve in March.

The Trump family’s crypto ventures, including the president’s $TRUMP memecoin, have slowed down stablecoin negotiations as Democrats raise conflict of interest concerns in the Senate. Its members have alleged that Trump is selling access to the White House through his memecoin.

But crypto investors believe their 2024 investments have laid the groundwork for legislative action, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong declaring that November ushered in the “most pro-crypto” Congress yet.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who ran the DSCC in 2024, said senators should vote their conscience when asked about the importance of crypto spending in their races.

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“That should be the main motivator for folks,” he told the Washington Examiner, though he acknowledged the money does come with an implicit expectation as crypto legislation is ushered through Congress.

“It’s clear that the crypto people want a return for their investment,” Peters added.