A Tether executive warned on May 7, 2026, that the 2026 United States midterm elections could have a “seismic impact” on the future of cryptocurrencies, by testing the continuity of the regulatory advances made in Washington over the last year.
The warning was issued by Jesse Spirohead of government affairs at Tether, during his participation in the Consensus Miami 2026 event, in a panel focused on growing political role of cryptocurrency industry in the United States.
According to Spiro, although the sector has made recent progress in legislative matters, The political scenario remains highly uncertain. Among the milestones mentioned, the approval of the GENIUS law stands out, a key proposal to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, as reported by CriptoNoticias. He also mentioned progress on market structure bills that seek to define the powers between the SEC and the CFTC.
The executive stressed that, despite these developments, the result of the elections could significantly alter the regulatory course. “The apple cart can always overturn.”he noted, in reference to the fragility of the current political balance around cryptocurrencies.
The panel in which Spiro participated agreed that the industry has intensified its political influence ahead of 2026. Groups like Stand With Cryptowith nearly 3 million members, have increased their electoral mobilization efforts, while political action committees in the sector have channeled hundreds of millions of dollars in the previous electoral cycle.
In parallel, the sector seeks to consolidate what it calls “regulatory durability”, that is, the ability to maintain cryptocurrency-friendly policies regardless of the political cycle. In this context, the industry aims to strengthen its presence in Congress through campaign financing and voter organization.
Regarding the above, attention has been focused in recent weeks on the Clarity law, which has seen delays in its discussion, amid disagreements over the classification of tokens and the treatment of yield in stablecoins, which has slowed down the legislative consensus around the design of the market.
Everything seems to indicate that the November 2026 elections will be decisive in determining control of key congressional committees, such as those on Financial Services and Banking, responsible for direct oversight of digital asset legislation. A change in its composition could accelerate or slow down the reforms underway.