Stand With Crypto predicts a Bitcoin-friendly Congress, backs 45 candidates

Stand With Crypto is calling it: the United States is about to send its most Bitcoin-friendly Congress to Washington. The advocacy group's executive director, Mason Lynaugh, made the prediction in a Bitcoin Magazine video shared on Election Day, saying the country is on track to hit that mark, according to the outlet. The group also hit X to tell supporters that lawmakers had spent years writing crypto rules without listening to the people actually using the technology, adding that voters get the final word today.

The group's slate runs 45 endorsements deep, split between 42 House candidates and three Senate contenders. Its Senate picks are Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire. The September round tacked on four more House names: Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures of Alabama, Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Republican candidate Derek Merrin of Ohio and Democratic candidate Janelle Stelson of Pennsylvania.

Money is following the endorsements too. Stand With Crypto steered extra ad dollars into six House races, backing Don Davis in North Carolina, Susie Lee in Nevada, Zach Nunn in Iowa, Bryan Steil in Wisconsin, plus Merrin and Stelson. The organization grades candidates on what they say in public, how they vote and how they answer its questionnaire.

The endorsement list has been building for months. August brought 32 House incumbents from both parties into the fold, all of whom had backed the CLARITY Act when the House passed it in July 2025, including Republicans Tom Emmer and Bill Huizenga and Democrats Ritchie Torres and Josh Gottheimer. The Senate version stalled on Sept. 15 when a procedural motion failed 49-50, well short of the 60 votes needed to move; that vote was about taking up the bill, not passing it.

Lynaugh, in the Oct. 23 interview, described a machine of 3.1 million advocates, 50 state chapters and 47 college chapters, tied to a final get-out-the-vote push. The effort began small, with six incumbent endorsements, and Lynaugh said in May that it was targeting races where supporters could tip close results; at that point the group counted 2.7 million advocates. Its voter hub lets people enter an address, pull up local races, compare candidates on crypto and check registration, polling places and early-voting options.

Bitcoin reserve policy is moving on a separate track. The House Financial Services Committee approved an amended bill 28-21 on Sept. 16 to write the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into federal law. The American Reserve Modernization Act would set a minimum 20-year holding period for deposited Bitcoin, require annual proof-of-reserve reporting and have Treasury and Commerce study ways to acquire coins without new taxes, borrowing or deficit spending. States could voluntarily deposit Bitcoin into segregated Treasury accounts while keeping ownership.