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 the mission of increasing economic freedom through cryptocurrency and Coinbase (we are quite politicized in this dimension).
Regardless of how you view it, this election is a huge victory for cryptocurrency.
1. Supporting cryptocurrency is a key factor in Bernie Moreno's victory over Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Sherrod is one of the most anti-cryptocurrency senators.
2. Cryptocurrency has received full support from the winning presidential candidate.
3. The U.S. completely denies that Senators Warren and Gary Gensler have tried to illegally stifle our industry for years. They should all take responsibility for the Democratic Party's failure (Biden and Harris should also take responsibility for their lack of control).
4. The next Congress will be the most pro-cryptocurrency Congress in history. StandWithCrypto voters turned out in large numbers to help elect pro-crypto candidates in almost 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 voters who are dissatisfied with the current financial system and want change.
Of course, there were many other factors in this election besides cryptocurrency—Musk may have played the biggest role (his acquisition of Twitter/X marked a turning point). There are many other factors, but I won't go into them here.
But I believe that the biggest message we (American citizens) sent to the government in this election is that we will not go down the road of socialism, we will not establish an ever-growing government with increasing power, we will not over-regulate, engage in legal battles, print excessive amounts of money, or buy votes with free handouts while driving up the deficit. America will follow 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, and celebrating science, technology, and builders as the sources of civilizational progress, among other things.
This should not be a partisan message. Both parties have excellent pro-business, pro-tech advocates, and the crypto industry supports them. But that does not mean the support should be 50/50, as their support in this election was not evenly distributed. I received many angry calls from leftists who were frustrated that the industry's efforts were not completely 50/50 or did not support the Democratic Party. They refuse to acknowledge that more Republicans voted in favor of the FIT21 bill in the House (by about a 3 to 1 margin), while the legal battles/attacks against crypto came from the Democratic government. Supporting a truly non-partisan PAC, which focuses solely on candidates' positions on crypto and economic freedom rather than which party they belong to, is truly perplexing. If they get trapped in partisan thinking, they cannot understand why it is not 50/50 or why they do not support their preferred party (or do not want to because it does not 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 will no longer see such imbalances. Crypto should receive support from both sides, and any important new technology or industry that drives American prosperity should as well. Both sides can support it with their own values. We cannot tolerate politicians attempting to illegally destroy our industry or strip away our customers' rights.
Finally, from a policy perspective, cryptocurrency will continue to exist, and we will continue to emerge until we see reasonable legislation that protects consumers and the industry from future attacks. We will see this industry established in the U.S. Coinbase and a16z 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 in the G20 and beyond. Only through widespread global adoption can cryptocurrency refresh the global financial system and increase economic freedom.
I am very proud of the progress the crypto community has made. Now let's advance some reasonable legislation in the U.S. and get back to building!