Author: Brian Armstrong, Founder and CEO of Coinbase; Translated by 0xjs@Golden Finance
I want to share some brief thoughts on the election from the perspective of crypto and Coinbase's mission to increase economic freedom (we are very politicized in this dimension).
Regardless of how you look at it, this election is a tremendous victory for cryptocurrency.
1. Support for cryptocurrency was a key factor in Bernie Moreno's victory over Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Sherrod is one of the most anti-crypto senators.
2. Cryptocurrency has received full support from the victorious presidential candidate.
3. The U.S. completely denies that Senator Warren and Gary Gensler have been trying to illegally stifle our industry for years. They should all take responsibility for the Democratic Party's failures (Biden and Harris should also be held accountable for their uncontrollable actions).
4. The next Congress will be the most supportive of cryptocurrencies in history. StandWithCrypto voters turned out in large numbers to help elect pro-crypto candidates in nearly every district. (The House elected 257 pro-crypto candidates)
5. Washington, D.C. received a clear message that opposing cryptocurrency is a good way to end a career, as it does not represent the will of the voters, who are dissatisfied with the current financial system and want change.
Of course, there were many other factors in this election beyond cryptocurrency—Musk may have played the biggest role (his acquisition of Twitter/X marked a turning point). There are many other factors, which I won't elaborate on here.
But I believe the biggest message we (American citizens) sent to the government in this election is that we will not go down the path of socialism, will not create a government that is increasingly large and powerful, will not over-regulate, engage in legal wars, or print massive amounts of money, nor will we buy votes by giving away free money while driving up the deficit. America will take the path of economic freedom, which is our source of strength, based on limited government, the rule of law, elite politics, and fiscal discipline, respecting the free market (rather than the government) as the source of economic growth, praising science, technology, and builders as the source of civilizational progress, and so on.
This should not be a partisan message. Both parties have excellent pro-business, pro-technology advocates, and the crypto industry supports them. But that doesn’t mean support should be 50/50, as their support is not evenly distributed in this election. I received many angry calls from leftists who were unhappy that the industry's efforts were not entirely 50/50 or supported the Democrats. They refuse to acknowledge that more Republicans in the House voted in support of the FIT21 bill (about a 3 to 1 advantage), while the legal wars/attacks against crypto come from the Democratic government. Supporting a truly non-partisan PAC that focuses solely on candidates' positions on crypto and economic freedom, rather than which party they belong to, is really frustrating. If they fall into partisan thinking, they cannot understand why it is not 50/50 or why they support the party they like (or don’t want to do so because it doesn't align with their interests).
In any case, I am proud that the crypto community has taken a truly principled, non-partisan approach, and I hope that after this election, we no longer see this imbalance. Crypto should receive support from both sides, and any important new technology or industry that drives American prosperity should do so as well. Both sides can support it with their own values. We cannot tolerate politicians attempting to illegally destroy our industry or strip rights from our customers.
Finally, from a policy perspective, cryptocurrency will continue to exist, and we will continue to emerge until we see reasonable legislation to protect consumers and the industry from future attacks. We will see this industry established in the U.S. Coinbase and a16z have provided additional funding for Fairshake, which has already used about $78 million in the 2026 midterm elections. StandWithCrypto currently has 1.9 million supporters and has set an extended goal of reaching 4 million supporters by the 2026 midterm elections. They will also expand their efforts internationally, as we need to see similar rules at the G20 and beyond. Only through widespread global adoption can cryptocurrency renew the global financial system and increase economic freedom.
I am very proud of the progress that the crypto community has made. Now let's get some reasonable legislation passed in the U.S. and start building again!