The cryptocurrency industry emerged as one of the biggest winners of the 2024 election, with 273 pro-crypto candidates winning U.S. House seats and 19 securing Senate positions, according to latest data compiled by Stand with Crypto tracker.

A crypto rally followed the Nov. 5 reelection of Donald Trump, who had pledged to turn the U.S. into the "crypto capital of the planet.” Bitcoin surged above $93,000 for the first time a week later, and other cryptocurrencies like ether, solana and especially dogecoin got a boost. Overall, the crypto industry saw the electoral results as a huge win that could push development of digital assets in the country.

"When I look at that map, what I see is a purple wave," says Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at Coinbase, one of the major crypto exchanges and biggest donors in the latest election cycle. "The crypto advocates, the people who showed up at the ballot, are really going to demonstrate that crypto showed up in a big way."

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The election also marked the transformation of crypto from a fringe technology movement into Washington's newest power broker, but this swift ascension is raising questions about the future of money in American democracy.

Crypto corporations alone poured over $119 million into the 2024 elections — accounting for 44% of all corporate political spending, according to data compiled by nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen. Koch Industries, a traditional heavyweight among political donors, came in second.

Only fossil fuel companies have spent more since 2010, when the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the floodgates for corporate spending in elections, according to the data.

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