Crypto critic Elizabeth Warren defeats crypto advocate John Deaton
Senator Elizabeth Warren, well known for her criticism of cryptocurrency, has defeated Republican crypto-friendly candidate John Deaton to win the Senate race in Massachusetts on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press.
Deaton has long been an advocate for cryptocurrency and is the owner of CryptoLaw, a website that provides legal and regulatory news. Deaton challenged the Security and Exchange Commission's assertion that XRP is a security in its case against Ripple in 2021. He then secured the Republican nomination and formally entered the race for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, where he would run against Warren in the 2024 election.
Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, was among the prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry who supported Deaton. Last month, Garlinghouse announced his donation to Deaton to a crowd at DC Fintech Week. The Winklevoss twins gave $1 million in Bitcoin to Warren's campaign directly, while Ripple Labs gave $1 million to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a super political action committee founded by lawyer James Murphy to help unseat Warren.
Elizabeth Warren's fourth term in the U.S. Senate
Warren would serve in the U.S. Senate for a fourth term. She is a member of both the Senate Finance and Banking Committees. The latter is in charge of the commodity futures trading commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sens. Roger Marshall and Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation in December 2022 to strengthen U.S. anti-money laundering regulations for digital assets. According to a statement from the senators, the bill would extend know-your-customer (KYC) regulations to miners, validators, wallet providers, and other network participants. Additionally, it would forbid financial institutions from utilizing or communicating with transaction mixers, which are decentralized programs that mask the sources of transactions on distributed ledger networks such as Ethereum.
The bill also mandates that cryptocurrency ATMs in the United States verify the identity of their customers and periodically report to federal authorities the locations and quantity of machines they own, as well as information filing requirements for offshore digital asset transactions of $10,000 or more.
Pro-crypto Republican candidate Bernie Moreno wins the Ohio race
Crypto-friendly candidate Bernie Moreno has won the Ohio Senate race from incumbent Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown. The Associated Press announced that Moreno won a Senate seat Tuesday night at 4:27 am UTC by a vote of 50.6% to 46%.
Moreno made his political debut in the 2022 Senate contest, but he put his campaign on hold prior to the primaries. Moreno ran as an "outsider," having never held public office before. Moreno, however, received support from a wide range of Republican insiders, including Donald Trump, who described him as "exactly the type of MAGA fighter we need in the Senate."
Moreno’s win adds a pro-crypto voice to senate after Deaton defeat
In addition to giving the Senate another pro-crypto voice, Moreno's victory also ousted a significant opponent of cryptocurrency who served as the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, which is key for enacting crypto legislation.
Brown, who had been in the Senate since 2007, lost to Moreno. Over the years, Brown has been seen as vital to the cryptocurrency sector.
With more than $500,000 spent on advertising, the Brown-Moreno contest was the most costly Senate race in history, according to NBC News. Political action committees (PACs) accounted for the majority of that expenditure, including the pro-crypto super PAC Defend American Jobs, which contributed $41 million to Moreno's campaign.
According to several news reports, Moreno also received $12 million from super political action committee Fairshake in an attempt to unseat Brown. Moreno is a co-founder of ChampTitles, a firm that uses blockchain technology to issue car titles.
Brown controls the purse strings that are used to introduce legislation, including cryptocurrency bills, in his capacity as chair of the Senate Banking Committee. Brown has instructed federal agencies to use their existing authority to target corrupt actors in the cryptocurrency industry and has called for a crackdown on the use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions and finance terrorism.
The Senate Banking Committee chair position is up for grabs after Brown lost his race. Notably, the committee is also in charge of the commodity futures trading commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
If Democrats had won the Senate majority, there was a possibility that Sen. Elizabeth Warren would be elected chair. But according to the Associated Press, the Republicans won the majority on Tuesday night. Accordingly, the Senate Banking Committee may be chaired by Sen. Tim Scott, the top Republican on the Senate committee who has recently expressed support for the cryptocurrency sector.
Disclaimer
This information should not be considered financial advice by any means. Please do your own research before making any investment decisions. The views in the articles are personal opinions only. Whale Insider is not responsible for any financial losses incurred.