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Maxine Waters is probably coming back. If Democrats flip the House, the California congresswoman reclaims the gavel at the House Financial Services Committee — and that’s a very big deal for anyone betting on crypto legislation surviving the next session.
Waters has already made her feelings clear. She called the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act the “Calamity Act.” Not a subtle critique. Her argument is pretty much what you’d expect: the bill eases regulations in ways she thinks gut consumer protection. Whether you agree or not, she’s consistent, and she’s got the seniority to act on it.
Kalshi puts Democratic House odds at 84%.
That number is striking. The Senate is murkier — Kalshi hasn’t pinned it down the same way, and control there looks more contested. But if both chambers flip, the picture for crypto gets complicated fast.
Four Critics, Four Committees
It’s not just Waters. The source article lays out a pretty grim scorecard for the industry. Representative Shontel Brown could chair the House Agriculture Committee. Senator Elizabeth Warren might run the Senate Banking Committee. Senator Michael Bennet is a possible pick for Senate Agriculture if Amy Klobuchar leaves for the Minnesota governor’s race — which seems likely. All four hold “F” ratings from Stand With Crypto, the industry’s main advocacy group. Four committee chairs. Four F’s. That’s basically a wall.
Brown has a track record here. She’s voted against multiple digital asset bills, including the Clarity Act, on the grounds that they don’t deal seriously with corruption risks. She’s not a swing vote you can peel off with a few tweaks to the bill language.
Warren is, if anything, harder. She’s opposed crypto measures even when her own Democratic colleagues backed them. Her critics in the industry basically see her as immovable. If she chairs Senate Banking, she could do what Senator Sherrod Brown did before her — just sit on bills. Not kill them outright. Just not move them. That’s enough.
And Bennet? He’s introduced legislation specifically aimed at restricting crypto activities among government officials. That’s not a neutral posture. That’s a guy who thinks the industry needs tighter controls, not looser ones.
The Clarity Act’s Narrow Window
The Clarity Act is already in trouble in the Senate regardless of who runs what. Waters’ opposition in the House makes its path narrower still. Industry sources — and the source article makes this clear — think September is basically the last real window. If the bill doesn’t move then, a Democratic majority in the next session probably buries it.
Waters’ history with crypto is more complicated than a simple “no.” She came close on a stablecoin bill back in 2022. Close. It didn’t cross the line, but she was engaged. That’s worth remembering. Her opposition to the Clarity Act isn’t opposition to crypto regulation broadly — it’s opposition to what she sees as weak regulation. There’s a difference, even if the industry doesn’t always want to hear it.
Still, “close” in 2022 didn’t produce a law. And the political environment has shifted since then, with Trump’s administration leaning hard into crypto, which has made Democratic scrutiny sharper, not softer. Democrats have spent considerable energy examining Trump’s personal crypto ties, and that political dynamic isn’t going away.
Industry Tries to Stay Bipartisan
Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone is pushing back on the doom framing. His line is that crypto is non-partisan and that his organization will keep working across the aisle no matter who holds the gavels. That’s the right thing to say publicly. Whether it’s achievable in practice is a separate question.
The industry has done real bipartisan work before. But working with individual sympathetic Democrats is different from navigating four committee chairs who’ve each earned an F from your main advocacy group. Those aren’t people you lobby with a few talking points about blockchain innovation.
What the industry probably needs is a version of crypto regulation that Warren or Waters could actually stomach — something with real consumer protections baked in, real anti-corruption provisions, real teeth. That’s a harder bill to write than the Clarity Act. It might also be the only bill that moves in a Democratic-controlled Congress.
Klobuchar’s potential exit from the Senate Agriculture Committee is worth watching closely. Bennet stepping into that role would shift the committee’s posture on digital assets in a measurable way. No details yet on timing, and it’s not confirmed — but the possibility alone is already being factored in by crypto lobbyists mapping out their next moves.
Carbone’s Digital Chamber says it’s committed to finding common ground. Bennet’s proposed legislation would restrict crypto activities among government officials.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is a crypto regulatory bill that Maxine Waters has criticized as the “Calamity Act,” arguing it weakens consumer protections by easing existing regulations on digital assets.
What ratings do Waters, Warren, Brown, and Bennet hold from Stand With Crypto?
All four Democrats — Maxine Waters, Elizabeth Warren, Shontel Brown, and Michael Bennet — hold “F” ratings from Stand With Crypto, the crypto industry’s main advocacy group.
