-
The
Republican
primary
win
of
blockchain
businessman
Bernie
Moreno
in
Ohio
has
set
up
the
congressional
race
to
watch
for
the
crypto
industry. -
Moreno
will
face
off
in
the
general
election
against
crypto
doubter
Sen.
Sherrod
Brown,
the
chairman
of
the
Senate
Banking
Committee
who
has
been
a
legislative
roadblock
for
digital
assets
regulation.
Ohio’s
U.S.
Senate
race
may
be
the
biggest
congressional
contest
this
year
for
the
crypto
industry,
now
pitting
a
digital
assets
booster
against
Sen.
Sherrod
Brown
(D-Ohio),
the
sitting
Senate
Banking
Committee
chairman
who
has
stood
in
the
way
of
the
development
of
regulatory
legislation.
Bernie
Moreno,
an
Ohio
businessman
and
crypto
enthusiast
who
founded
a
blockchain
startup
that
focuses
on
property
titles,
won
the
Republican
nomination
Tuesday
in
the
battleground
state
where
Brown
has
previously
held
his
ground,
despite
most
of
its
statewide
offices
being
held
by
Republicans.
Moreno
carried
the
endorsement
of
former
President
Donald
Trump,
who
is
again
his
party’s
standard-bearer
in
the
presidential
election.
Brown
has
been
a
vocal
critic
of
the
digital
assets
sector,
especially
the
frauds
and
company
implosions
that
have
cost
consumers
money.
He’s
expressed
some
interest
in
moving
legislation
that
would
deal
with
the
illicit
use
of
crypto,
but
not
yet
in
bills
that
would
set
up
rules
of
the
road
for
the
industry.
If
Brown
loses,
it
not
only
changes
the
leadership
of
the
committee,
but
it
may
also
change
the
party
with
majority
status
in
the
Senate.
In
this
session,
the
Senate
has
teetered
at
a
50-50
split
that’s
broken
to
the
Democrats’
benefit
by
the
vice
president.
It
only
takes
one
seat
to
shift
and
grant
Republicans
the
majority,
which
would
also
give
the
party
control
of
all
the
chairs
(and
the
agendas)
of
the
committees
that
would
need
to
pass
crypto
bills.
Moreno
had
a
complication
arise
in
recent
days
when
the
Associated
Press
reported
an
account
on
a
casual-sex
meetup
website
was
linked
to
an
email
address
belonging
to
Moreno,
though
a
past
intern
reportedly
said
he’d
created
it
as
a
joke
account.
However,
Moreno’s
primary
result
was
a
dominant
win
among
Ohio
Republicans,
with
50%
of
the
vote
in
a
three-candidate
race,
according
to
preliminary
results
with
more
than
70%
of
precincts
reporting.
While
the
crypto
industry
is
flooding
millions
of
dollars
into
congressional
races
across
the
country,
it
hasn’t
gone
after
Brown
other
than
with
targeted
campaigning
on
crypto
matters.
Primary
votes
also
took
place
Tuesday
in
Illinois,
Florida
and
Arizona,
where
candidates
battled
for
the
vacated
seat
of
Sen.
Kyrsten
Sinema
(I-Ariz.)
–
one
of
those
responsible
for
the
crypto
taxation
provision
that
made
it
into
an
infrastructure
law
and
is
generally
loathed
by
the
industry.
Important
states
New
York
and
Pennsylvania
are
set
to
vote
next
month
as
the
primaries
continue
into
September.
The
presidential
candidates
from
both
parties
have
already
won
sufficient
delegates
to
win
their
parties’
nominations.
For
the
crypto
industry,
the
person
who
occupies
the
White
House
next
year
will
have
hiring
and
firing
power
over
key
government
officials,
including
the
chair
of
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
and
the
secretary
of
the
Treasury.
But
the
majorities
and
the
committee
leaderships
in
Congress
may
be
just
as
important
as
lawmakers
close
in
on
the
legislation
that
will
govern
how
the
U.S.
digital
assets
sector
operates.
