The crypto industry is pouring money into next week’s midterm elections, but voter enthusiasm for digital assets remains limited. According to an Ipsos survey conducted for the DeFi Education Fund, only 13% of Americans say it is extremely or very important that a candidate supports emerging financial technologies such as blockchain, crypto, and decentralized finance. A broader innovation message performs better: 35% say it is very important that candidates ensure next-generation financial technology builders are encouraged to stay in the U.S., with Republicans at 45% and Democrats at 30%.
The survey polled 1,545 adults from Sept. 8 to 16, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. Meanwhile, crypto groups have spent about $176 million across more than 100 midterm races, according to a Reuters review. Super PAC Fairshake and affiliates accounted for about $150.8 million through Oct. 20, and one Fairshake affiliate disclosed more than $46 million in spending against former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s Senate race.
The political stakes follow the failure of the Clarity Act, which would have set federal rules for crypto markets, in a key Senate vote in September amid disputes over ethics provisions covering President Donald Trump’s crypto interests. Since then, the industry has looked to regulators such as the SEC and CFTC to write rules. The survey also found that 63% of respondents believe the financial system needs an upgrade to combat threats like AI and cybercrime, while 49% say the government should not decide which products they can invest in.
In a separate report published Oct. 28, Grayscale research head Zach Pandl estimated that the United States accounts for roughly 15-20% of global crypto activity and argued adoption will continue regardless of the midterm outcome. The U.S. share of Bitcoin hashrate is estimated at 36%, Ethereum full nodes at 31%, onchain transaction value at 26%, stablecoin payment value at 24%, merchant payment transactions at 22%, developers at 21%, Solana stake at 17%, cross-border flows at 16%, spot trading volume at 15%, and mobile wallet users at 12%. The median across indicators is 16% and the mean is 19%.
Grayscale’s range draws on 14 indicators from sources including a16z, Forbes, Triple-A, Phantom, Kaiko, the Bank for International Settlements, Solana, Electric Capital, CoinGate, McKinsey/Artemis, Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Cambridge and Hashrate Index. A separate Cambridge mining survey recorded 75.4% of surveyed mining activity in the United States, but cautioned that strong participation from American firms likely overstated the country’s share.
Pandl cited bipartisan ownership and institutional participation as reasons for continued adoption. Washington’s rulemaking has also continued: the OCC finalized rules under the GENIUS Act on Oct. 21, and the Federal Reserve released separate stablecoin proposals on Sept. 24. Earlier, the Senate voted 49-to-50 on Sept. 15 against advancing to debate on the CLARITY Act.
