An analysis said that although the Democrats won both the House and Senate in the U.S. midterm elections, the base of crypto-friendly forces in Congress has not been shaken significantly.

CoinPost, a blockchain outlet, reported on Nov. 12 that Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan (매트 호건) said Democratic strength could raise market uncertainty in the short term but may not deal a major long-term blow to cryptocurrencies.

In a weekly memo, Hougan cited “demographics” as a more important variable than the election results. He said the balance between supporters and opponents of cryptocurrencies has barely changed even though the seat alignment between Democrats and Republicans has shifted.

By the assessment criteria of crypto lobbying group Stand With Crypto, 51 senators in the next Senate are classified as having pro-crypto leanings, similar to 52 in the previous Congress. In the House, 241 lawmakers are classified as having pro-crypto leanings, a majority of the 435 seats. Hougan cited this as the background to his view that the long-term policy environment will not change sharply solely because Democrats have an advantage.

He pointed to generational turnover in Congress as a more important change. Hougan described it as, “Congress is drenched in blue, but the gray has faded.” He meant that while the Democratic advantage strengthened, the average age of lawmakers fell. Newly elected senators are 14 years younger on average than retiring lawmakers, and the number of senators under 50 rose to 15 from 8. In the House, the number of Gen Z and millennial lawmakers increased to at least 94.

Hougan judged that such changes could be linked to broader long-term acceptance of cryptocurrencies. He said younger generations are more familiar with the technologies of the era in which they grew up and have greater understanding and acceptance of cryptocurrencies. In a Charles Schwab survey he cited, crypto ownership was 33 percent among millennials and 8 percent among baby boomers, a difference of more than fourfold.

Hougan cited James Talarico (제임스 탈라리코), a Democratic senator-elect from Texas, as an example of this trend. Talarico, 37, is expected to become the youngest U.S. senator upon taking office and received an A grade from Stand With Crypto. He has twice voted in favor of a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the Texas legislature. Hougan presented this as a symbolic example of a generation for whom Bitcoin has existed throughout their professional lives.

He also made clear that a Democrat-led Congress is not necessarily only friendly to the industry. Hougan said he saw a high likelihood that Senator Elizabeth Warren (엘리자베스 워런), who is critical of cryptocurrencies, could become the next chair of the Senate Banking Committee. The committee has the authority to launch wide-ranging investigations if necessary.

Hougan raised the possibility of a large-scale congressional investigation into TrumpCoin, a memecoin related to President Donald Trump, and World Liberty Financial. He also said prediction markets could be exposed to regulatory risk. He warned this could increase market volatility over the coming weeks to months.

Even so, he maintained his long-term outlook. In a podcast interview, Hougan said it was still uncertain how Democrats would handle cryptocurrencies and that the next few weeks should be watched cautiously, while adding that developments could improve toward year-end. He also said mainstream areas such as Bitcoin, stablecoins and tokenisation would continue to grow.

A key market question is which will have the greater impact: short-term political variables or long-term generational change. The Democratic advantage and the possibility of Warren chairing a standing committee remain regulatory burden factors, but the crypto market is expected for the time being to reflect both trends because bipartisan support in Congress and a younger lawmaker mix could change the medium- to long-term policy direction. Hougan stressed in closing that “demographics ultimately determine destiny.”