Democrats took both chambers of the US Congress in the elections on November 3, 2026. Control of the House of Representatives and the Senate passes to them. The main crypto bill, the CLARITY Act, in its previous form almost certainly will not pass.
The CLARITY Act is a framework law on the structure of the crypto market. It was supposed to divide powers between the SEC and the CFTC and specify which tokens are considered securities. Midterm elections take place in the middle of a presidential term and re-elect Congress, not the president.
Why this matters to a trader. While the rules hang in the air, the crypto market moves on headlines from Washington.
How has the balance of power in Congress changed?
According to NBC News estimates, Democrats will take about 255 seats in the House of Representatives. A majority requires 218.
- 2022 - Democrats lost the lower chamber
- Now - they are taking it back for the first time since 2018
- Trump districts - they took those where he won two years earlier
- Senate - also passes to the Democrats
Republicans under threat in Texas, Ohio, both Carolinas and Kansas.
What will happen to the CLARITY Act?
Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks has already questioned whether the document will remain a priority for the new majority. TD Cowen expects that the change of control in Congress will delay the adoption of rules on the structure of the crypto market.
The Democrats' priorities, according to CoinDesk, are different:
- Illicit finance. Tougher requirements against such operations.
- Investor protection. A separate area of work.
- Ban for officials. They will be barred from participating in crypto projects.
A blow to the president's family. The last point directly hits its business. The new majority gets the right to launch investigations, and the Trumps' crypto projects are named as one of the first targets.
What does this mean for the market?
Trump retains the right of veto. Overriding it requires two-thirds of the votes in each chamber, meaning a standoff ensues on contentious initiatives.
The main thing: there will be no clear rules on crypto in the US for a long time yet, and the price is driven by news from Congress. See the dates of key events in the economic calendar.
What's next?
The Speaker on January 3 is set to be Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
- Taxes on digital assets - the industry hopes to advance the topic on a bipartisan basis
- Market structure - the issue is pushed back indefinitely
- Investigations - the new chamber may launch them into crypto projects
For such choppy trading it is convenient to pick a challenge in advance.
Regulatory fog for a year ahead
When the rules of the game hang indefinitely, the market lives in bursts on headlines. You see such bursts on the chart every time. What usually prevents you from capturing them is not the markup but the notional: half a percent on BTC on a personal three thousand dollars is coffee money, on a company account it's a working result. In prop trading, the capital is provided by the company: you pass the evaluation, trade within its risk limits and share the profit. It is worth understanding the mechanics before the next batch of news from Washington.