U.S. voters have placed everyday economic concerns far ahead of crypto regulation, even as lawmakers prepare for a Senate Banking Committee vote on the CLARITY Act this week.
Summary
- Only 4% of Americans surveyed said a candidate’s crypto stance would influence their vote ahead of the 2026 midterms.
- A Politico and Public First survey found that affordable housing, fraud protection, and lower bank fees ranked above crypto regulation among voter priorities.
According to a survey released Wednesday by Politico and polling firm Public First, only 4% of 2,035 U.S. adults said a political candidate’s stance on crypto policy would influence how they vote. Affordable housing, consumer fraud protection, and lower bank fees ranked as the top issues respondents wanted Congress to address.
Public First also found that just 18% of respondents viewed establishing rules for the crypto market as a top congressional priority. Regulation of large banks ranked slightly lower at 17%.
Despite the low ranking among voters, crypto industry groups have continued pouring money into U.S. elections ahead of the 2026 midterms. Data compiled by researcher Molly White showed crypto lobby organizations spent more than $130 million during the 2024 election cycle and have already directed another $320 million toward influencing the November midterms.
Pressure campaigns against candidates seen as hostile to the industry have also intensified. According to the same data reviewed by Politico, crypto-backed groups spent more than $5.5 million targeting opposing candidates in congressional races in Illinois earlier this year.
Crypto remains a low priority for many voters
Within the same Public First survey, only 27% of respondents said they supported or strongly supported government efforts to legitimize crypto as a mainstream financial asset. Another 31% said they opposed or strongly opposed such measures.
Republican Representative Dusty Johnson told Politico that digital assets still remain a niche issue for most voters, though he said interest has been growing gradually over time. Johnson added that people who care about crypto policy tend to care about it intensely.
Elsewhere in the poll, more than half of respondents said they had never traded crypto and would not consider doing so in the future. Only 19% said they had traded crypto, while 7% of crypto traders said a candidate’s crypto stance would directly affect their vote.
Risk appetite also appeared limited among respondents. Public First reported that 45% viewed crypto investing as a risk not worth taking, even if high returns were possible, while 25% said the potential rewards justified the risk.
The findings arrived less than a week after a separate HarrisX poll painted a different picture around crypto’s political influence.
That survey, conducted between May 1 and May 4 among 2,008 registered voters, found 52% supported the CLARITY Act and 47% said they would consider backing a candidate outside their preferred party if the candidate supported the legislation and their own party did not.
Among crypto users surveyed by HarrisX, support for crossing party lines rose to 72%. HarrisX also reported support for the bill from 58% of Republicans, 55% of Democrats, and 42% of independents.
