Waters, Warren, Brown: The 3 Democrats shaping crypto’s next act

Next January, Representative Maxine Waters could return to chair the House Financial Services Committee. The California Democrat stands first in line for the gavel if her party wins the House majority, a scenario Kalshi puts at 84% likelihood. The Senate is a closer call – 47% for Democrats – but a win there would put Senator Elizabeth Warren atop the Banking Committee.

For crypto, that combination spells a reset. The industry’s main legislative push, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, faces a narrowing path through the Senate this September. If it stalls, the next Congress would likely start from scratch under chairs who have shown little appetite for the current bills.

Waters has a record of taking crypto seriously. She negotiated a stablecoin bill close to the finish line in 2022, a predecessor to the GENIUS Act that passed last year. She has been sharply critical of the Clarity Act, calling it the “Calamity Act” and saying it would “create giant loopholes in our federal financial laws that would put consumers and investors at risk.” She staged a walkout of a committee hearing on the bill. She also opposed crypto in retirement accounts and pushed legislation targeting President Trump’s crypto holdings.

“Regardless of how you feel about crypto, we can’t just ignore it,” said Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger in a CoinDesk interview. “It’s here, and the best thing that we can do is create a federally federal regulatory structure for it.”

Shontel Brown, the Ohio Democrat likely to lead the House Agriculture Committee, has voted against every digital-assets bill. She earned an “F” grade from Stand With Crypto. Her statement on the Clarity Act: “I voted against the GENIUS and Clarity acts because they fail to adequately address abuse and instead open the door to corruption.” She said she could support policy that “protects consumers and allows innovation to benefit everyone.”