Crypto Policy Adviser Expects Oversight to Outpace Laws in 2027

Wintermute policy and advocacy head Ron Hammond expects congressional oversight to outpace new crypto legislation in 2027 after Tuesday’s U.S. midterms, as a new Congress takes office in January.

Crypto groups have put more than $170 million into this election cycle, much of it through Fairshake and affiliated groups. The crypto PAC campaign targeting Brown has drawn substantial industry spending.

The election will determine the makeup of Congress, but not the White House or leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The lawmakers sworn in in January will shape the industry’s dealings with Washington over the following two years.

Crypto has not been a leading concern for most voters. A May survey of 1,000 registered voters found that 1% named crypto as their most important issue. Voters focused on cost of living, jobs, the economy, Social Security and health care.

Hammond expects Congress to spend more time scrutinizing the industry than writing new crypto laws in 2027. Chainlink policy director Taylor Barr said the industry wants rules “written in pen, not pencil.” Barr also expects the incoming class to include more lawmakers supportive of innovation, regardless of the election outcome.

Tax policy may be among the first areas to move. A proposal to end the tax exemption for small crypto payments could come up during the post-election lame-duck session, but passage in 2027 appears more likely.

Anchorage Digital policy head Kevin Wysocki expects a future market-structure bill to differ from the CLARITY Act, which stalled in the Senate in October. He expects a revised bill to set tighter requirements for decentralized finance and for companies that combine brokerage and exchange operations.