The crypto industry is cheering the outcomes of two primary races that could impact the future of digital asset policy in the U.S. One is the defeat of progressive New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer on Tuesday in the hotly contested race for New York’s 16th Congressional District seat. The other is the victory of Utah Rep. John Curtis, who secured the Republican nomination for the open seat of outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney.
Bowman, who has made headlines for his controversial rhetoric about Israel and the war in Gaza, has also drawn the ire of the crypto crowd for voting against pro-crypto policies while in Congress and his association with decidedly anti-crypto Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake, funded to the tune of $169 million by some of the biggest names in crypto and tech, said it was behind a $2 million ad spend opposing Bowman that ran in the days leading up to the primary.
Bowman recently voted against a key piece of House legislation called the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or the FIT 21 bill, which establishes regulatory clarity for digital assets in the U.S. The bill passed the House in May with a large swath of support from Democrats, but Bowman was not among them.