Crypto-friendly Congressman French Hill re-elected but to lose committee chair role

ChainCatcher report: U.S. Republican Representative French Hill has won re-election in Arkansas’s 2nd Congressional District, defeating Democratic challenger Chris Jones, a result confirmed by The Associated Press on Thursday. Hill, currently Chair of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, is a key ally of the cryptocurrency industry in Congress. He introduced the CLARITY Act and voted in favor of the GENIUS Act, earning an A rating from the crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto and being classified as strongly pro-crypto. The pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake pledged $1 million in October to support his re-election campaign, aiming to keep crypto-friendly lawmakers in Congress. With Democrats winning control of the House in Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, Hill is expected to lose his position as Chair of the Financial Services Committee in January. According to Reuters, current senior Democratic member of the committee, Maxine Waters, is the leading candidate to succeed him. As Democrats have also gained control of both chambers of Congress, the outlook for U.S. crypto legislation has become uncertain, potentially leading to stricter industry oversight. Pro-crypto super PACs spent over $176 million during this election cycle.