Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital and former White House director of communications during US President Donald Trump’s first term, has suggested that members of Congress will act to curry favor with the crypto industry before the 2026 midterm elections.
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Feb. 4, Scaramucci said US lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate facing primary challenges and close elections in swing districts would likely want to show a record of “proposing positive crypto legislation” before 2026.
The former White House communications director suggested that Congress could enact “a burst of legislative activity” before it breaks for the 2025 holidays, potentially including a crypto market structure bill.
“You’ll probably get it in November of this year, before that recess,” said Scaramucci, referring to crypto regulation. “But if you don’t, I don’t think you’ll get it much later than the timeline I’m suggesting.”
Scaramucci, who famously holds the record for shortest-serving communications director at the White House (11 days), was a vocal critic of Trump in the 2024 election, claiming the US president’s support of the crypto industry was purely transactional. The Financial Times reported that Scaramucci called Trump an “unwell” person who had “amassed a lot of political power.”
Will PACs and special interest groups influence the 2026 elections?
In addition to potentially courting single-issue crypto voters, House members and Senators running for reelection in 2026 could face opposition or support from political action committees (PACs) funded by industry players. The Fairshake PAC, which spent roughly $131 million on media buys for candidates in the 2024 US elections, said it was “keeping [its] foot on the gas” for the 2026 midterms.
Related: Market structure bill on agenda in first 100 days — Rep. French Hill
In 2024, the House passed one of the proposed bills to clarify crypto regulations: the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT21. However, the legislation was never taken up for a vote in the US Senate in the 118th Congress. It’s unclear if lawmakers will move forward with the bill.
The SkyBridge Capital founder also criticized Trump’s memecoin launch as “bad for the industry,” comparing the token to many scams that have infiltrated the space. The then-president-elect launched the TRUMP coin on Jan. 17 before taking office, with the market capitalization surging to more than $15 billion in less than 48 hours — though it has since fallen to roughly $3.5 billion.
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