House Democrats are discussing a plan to push broader crypto market structure legislation after the U.S. midterms, according to a report by journalist Eleanor Terrett. The proposal would expand Rep. Maxine Waters’ Crypto Investor and Consumer Bill of Rights amendment to the Clarity Act into a broader bill next Congress.
Sources told Terrett the plan would give the Securities and Exchange Commission more power to supervise crypto markets while limiting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s role. Democrats have discussed the expansion, but the report does not describe a bill that has been introduced or approved.
The reported proposal follows an election in which crypto policy support crossed party lines, even as analysts said the Clarity Act could face a harder path. Terrett’s report on the proposal described both the legislative discussions and the midterm results.
Push Broader Crypto Rules After the Midterms
Stand With Crypto endorsed 45 candidates in the midterms, according to its election tracker. Twenty-seven endorsed candidates won, 12 lost, and six races remained live at the time of writing. Nearly half of the endorsed candidates were Democrats.
“We’re proud to see a majority of our endorsed candidates win their elections,” Mason Lynaugh, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement shared with Decrypt. He also thanked candidates who would not return to Washington for advocating for Americans who own crypto.
James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, called Republican Bryan Steil a “meaningful loss” for crypto. Steil chaired the House digital assets subcommittee and had been closely involved in efforts to advance the Clarity Act. The bill stalled in the Senate earlier this year.
Butterfill also pointed to Democrats Chris Pappas in New Hampshire and James Talarico in Texas, along with Wyoming Republican Harriet Hageman, as winners who have supported crypto policy. He said the challenge would be converting that support into legislation.
Clarity Act Negotiations Could Get Harder
Analysts told Decrypt the election results may slow the Clarity Act, which aims to establish rules for crypto markets and has been debated since 2025. Carlos Guzman, GSR’s vice president of research, said passing it had become tougher, though he did not consider it “game over.”
Guzman said some Democrats support clearer crypto rules but may not put the issue high on their agenda. He said any agreement would likely need stronger provisions on consumer protection and conflicts of interest.
Democrats have objected to the Clarity Act by citing President Trump’s crypto conflicts of interest. Senator Elizabeth Warren has pushed for a ban on officials and their families profiting from the sector, the report said.
Guzman said the election would not automatically replace SEC or CFTC leadership or end agency rulemaking. He said congressional oversight would change, potentially bringing more scrutiny of regulatory decisions. Democrats could also influence agency funding and future appointments.
Agency Action Remains Part of the Debate
Butterfill said the SEC and CFTC are pursuing regulatory clarity without waiting for Congress, and he believes crypto is becoming less dependent on the Clarity Act. He also said attention to artificial intelligence regulation could slow crypto policy work.
He said the election result alone would not change his medium-term Bitcoin outlook. Slower reform could delay some institutional activity, while U.S. crypto businesses that need new regulatory permissions could feel a more direct effect, he told Decrypt.
For related coverage, BlockTelegraph has reported on SEC and CFTC enforcement actions, Canada’s crypto rules and institutional Bitcoin flows. The next step described in the report is whether House Democrats turn their discussions into a broader proposal in the next Congress.
