Alaska is yet to be called, but the writing is on the wall for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. The Democrats have seized control of both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

For all intents and purposes, this means that Trump is now a lame duck president.

That’s the least of his worries, though, as Democrats could now set their sights on investigating Trump’s crypto ventures. After all, this is a man who amassed a fortune of close to $1.5 billion from cryptocurrency ventures in the first year of his second term in office.

Target: Donald Trump

Donald Trump became the first sitting president to launch a memecoin, with OFFICIAL TRUMP [TRUMP] generating over $600M in licensing fees and royalties alone. All while a majority of the memecoin’s retail investors saw red.

He is also the “Co-Founder Emeritus” of World Liberty Financial [WLFI], a DeFi and cryptocurrency platform. According to public filings, the project, co-founded by Eric Trump, Barron Trump, and Donald Trump Jr., brought in $799M in 2025 alone.

Then there’s the matter of an Abu Dhabi-based fund buying $2 billion in USD1, WLF’s own stablecoin, to invest in Binance after the crypto exchange was fined over $4 billion for money laundering violations. Its founder, Changpeng Zhao, pled guilty and served a 4-month jail term before being pardoned by Trump.

Simply put, it can be argued that the president has used his position (and crypto) to monetize the presidency and enrich his personal fortune. Hence, the investigations.

Should the crypto sector be worried?

Moving ahead, what should the industry expect now that the Democrats are in control of the U.S Congress?

Well, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a gridlock. After all, many in the crypto industry have historically backed Republican candidates because they championed free market de-regulation and digital asset frameworks.

On the contrary, several prominent Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is also expected to chair the Senate Banking Committee from January, have often been vocal critics of the sector.

However, expecting the worst outcome possible here would allude to a very superficial reading of the situation. This is why it’s important to differentiate between what will happen, what can happen, and what won’t happen.

Here’s what WILL happen

Yes, the likes of Warren haven’t been the most receptive towards the sector, but party-wide support has been growing over the years.

Consider this – following the latest midterm elections, there are a total of 50 pro-crypto senators against just 33 anti-crypto ones. Similarly, in the House, 241 are currently pro-crypto as opposed to 104 who are against crypto. 

Those are significant numbers. More importantly, they also suggest that despite some historical bias, the sector enjoys some degree of bipartisan support.

The example of Fairshake is a case in point. The Crypto Super PAC spent millions backing 33 House candidates during the midterms. 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats. At the time of writing, 29 of them had already won. 

Legislative evidence from before the midterms is worth looking at too. As Andrew Nalichaev, CEO of HAIA Finance, pointed out,

… support for rules concerning stablecoins has received bipartisan backing: the GENIUS Act passed the Senate 68 to 30 and the House 308 to 122. An important issue that led to the failure of the CLARITY Act in September was the ethics issue regarding officials involved in issuing or supporting tokens.

… support for rules concerning stablecoins has received bipartisan backing: the GENIUS Act passed the Senate 68 to 30 and the House 308 to 122. An important issue that led to the failure of the CLARITY Act in September was the ethics issue regarding officials involved in issuing or supporting tokens.

Likewise, Luke Jacobi, Founder and Editor at OptimistFi, told AMBCrypto,

Our small comparison of two House final-passage votes on July 17, 2025 found that 102 of 212 voting Democrats backed GENIUS, compared with 78 of 212 for CLARITY: 48.1% versus 36.8%. Both attracted cross-party support, but the 24-vote difference shows why a single ‘pro-crypto’ label misses policy-specific disagreement.

Our small comparison of two House final-passage votes on July 17, 2025 found that 102 of 212 voting Democrats backed GENIUS, compared with 78 of 212 for CLARITY: 48.1% versus 36.8%. Both attracted cross-party support, but the 24-vote difference shows why a single ‘pro-crypto’ label misses policy-specific disagreement.

According to a recent report, over 30% of the population, or 70M people, now hold digital assets. It is evidence that despite some skepticism and vocal criticism, the industry has reached a level of financial integration that will be difficult to reverse right now. 

It is also evidence that crypto is no longer a single-party issue. Both red and blue states have their own share of crypto holders. In time, their numbers will grow, and so will the degree of bipartisan support the industry enjoys from lawmakers.

Here’s what CAN happen

However, the concerns about a possible legislative gridlock and its potential impact on the regulatory clarity the industry desperately seeks aren’t totally unwarranted. In the current landscape, Democrats control the U.S. Congress, while Republicans control the White House.

And while he did suggest that he looks forward to working with Democrats, President Trump has also asserted that he will wield his veto power if need be, especially since Democrats don’t enjoy a veto-proof or filibuster-proof majority.

This means that realistically, we can expect a certain level of gridlock across the board ranging from budgets, appropriations, and defense spending. Even crypto, if the new U.S. Congress is intent on investigating President Trump’s ventures.

Hence, the question: How big a concern could this be? According to Dmitri Mihhailov, General Partner at Prifinance,

Investigations do not change laws already on the books, and the most important one for the industry is already there – The GENIUS Act.

Investigations do not change laws already on the books, and the most important one for the industry is already there – The GENIUS Act.

Mihhailov also told AMBCrypto that in his view,

… gridlock hurts what is still missing: a federal framework for crypto trading markets. Until Congress passes one, firms rely on agency guidance and court rulings, and a future SEC or CFTC can change guidance much more easily than a statute.

… gridlock hurts what is still missing: a federal framework for crypto trading markets. Until Congress passes one, firms rely on agency guidance and court rulings, and a future SEC or CFTC can change guidance much more easily than a statute.

In fact, it can be argued that it’s not the investigation itself that could be concerning for the crypto-sector. Instead, it’s the calendar that could be the problem. Especially since congressional investigations consume time, staff, resources, and political capital, all of which can be used to pass necessary crypto legislation.

Here’s what WON’T happen

The “Wild West.” That’s the reputation the cryptocurrency industry had once upon a time.

Gone are those days, though, as the sector became more mainstream and was embraced by institutions and people world over. Banks, lawmakers, and even nation-states. Heck, even Trump did that within years of calling Bitcoin “a scam.”

Politics is a fickle game, though. It’s not unreasonable to contemplate that some legislators could turn on the industry if the congressional investigations into Trump’s crypto ventures go underway.

But will that happen?

The thing is, as an industry, crypto has well and truly arrived on the world stage over the last few years. Despite perceptions, it is too big to be defined by a singular person’s business interests. In fact, more than political scrutiny, THAT would be the biggest threat to the sector.

As IronWallet’s Ermo Eero put it,

The danger is that crypto as a whole becomes politically coded through its association with high-profile ventures like memecoins and politically connected stablecoins. If every crypto vote starts to look like a vote on a specific politician, moderates on both sides will find it easier to abstain or delay.

The danger is that crypto as a whole becomes politically coded through its association with high-profile ventures like memecoins and politically connected stablecoins. If every crypto vote starts to look like a vote on a specific politician, moderates on both sides will find it easier to abstain or delay.

Then what could these investigations yield? Well, at the very least, clear-cut ethics, disclosures, and conflict of interest rules for public officials – proposals that were at the core of the CLARITY Act’s failure. And, at the end of the day, won’t that be a win for the industry as a whole?

So, no. While there might be some distancing, lawmakers won’t turn on crypto.

Ball’s in D.C’s court now!

2026 hasn’t been a great year for the crypto sector so far. The markets aren’t exactly booming, billions have been lost to hacks, and the CLARITY Act failed to go through. Plus, the current President of the United States could soon find himself at the center of an investigation into his crypto dealings.

Those are setbacks, yes.

The midterm election results are not.

It is simply a matter of getting used to the new balance of power in Washington D.C.

Final Summary

  • Victorious Democrat lawmakers may now investigate Donald Trump’s crypto ventures.
  • Concerns around a potential crypto crackdown may be exaggerated.