Crypto has moved deeper into the 2026 election debate after a new DCG-Harris Poll showed rising voter interest in digital asset policy. The survey found that 40% of voters now view crypto as a major election issue, up from 20% in 2024. The poll surveyed 1,874 registered voters from May 8 to May 18, with oversamples in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. DCG said the results show a larger voter bloc watching how candidates discuss digital assets, with the company releasing the findings as Congress debates major crypto rules, including the CLARITY Act.
The survey found that 84% of Americans believe individuals, not companies, should own their personal data, with DCG saying the result links digital asset policy with wider concerns about financial privacy and data control. The poll also found that 55% of registered voters are more likely to use a service that does not use their personal data, placing privacy near the center of the crypto policy debate. As Julie Stitzel, DCG's chief policy officer, noted: "Candidates who champion digital asset policy and financial privacy don't have to look far for voter support. It's already there."
The CLARITY Act, the crypto industry's most significant legislative priority, faces mounting challenges as its passage chances have dropped to 60% from 75% according to Galaxy Digital. The downgrade reflects a shrinking Senate calendar and little visible progress on unresolved fights over ethics and illicit finance. The bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 in a 15-9 vote but now faces procedural hurdles including securing 60 votes in the Senate, floor debate, amendments, and alignment with separate Agriculture Committee text. Coinbase, Ripple and more than 200 crypto groups urged Senate leaders to schedule a vote on the bill, while JPMorgan analysts issued a similar warning noting that the legislative window has narrowed as lawmakers move closer to midterm elections.
Crypto market structure refers to the comprehensive framework of participants, platforms, rules, and infrastructure that comprise digital asset markets. According to The Block, this includes crypto exchanges, brokers, custodians, market makers, token issuers, investors, and regulators. In traditional finance, these questions were settled decades ago through laws such as the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936. However, in crypto, these frameworks are still being developed, which is why market structure has become one of the most common phrases in U.S. crypto policy.
Regulators face significant challenges when applying existing law to crypto markets. According to The Block, asset classification presents major difficulties as the same token can look like a security in one transaction and a commodity in another. Cross-border activity creates complexity as most major crypto exchanges serve users in multiple jurisdictions, and determining which regulator has authority is not always straightforward. Exchange oversight requires new interpretations of custody rules originally written for stocks and physical commodities, while decentralized intermediaries present challenges since traditional investor protection assumes identifiable intermediaries.
The SEC and CFTC share primary responsibility for federal crypto oversight, with jurisdiction determined by asset classification. As reported by The Block, in March 2026, the agencies issued a joint interpretation grouping crypto assets into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. The agencies designated sixteen major tokens as digital commodities, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, with digital commodities falling primarily under CFTC jurisdiction for spot market integrity while digital securities remain under SEC jurisdiction.
A significant development in crypto regulatory coordination emerged with six Republican senators led by Cynthia Lummis and Bill Hagerty sending a joint letter to the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on June 6, 2026. The letter argues that the Basel Committee's 1,250% risk weight on spot Bitcoin functions as a de facto ban on US bank crypto exposure, with the math showing $12.50 of capital required against $1 of Bitcoin being structurally incompatible with US bank treasury allocation. The senators propose treating spot Bitcoin holdings under a modified commodity exposure schedule of 100% to 150% rather than the current Group 2 crypto-asset treatment, which would align with the March 2026 SEC/CFTC classification of Bitcoin as a digital commodity.
