State of play: There are more Democratic Senate seats on the ballot this year than Republican. One consensus forecast puts the GOP as likely to gain a seat, hitting 50, with two seats — one being Brown's — too close to call.
If the two parties split those two, that puts Republicans in the majority, by one.
If the Dems take both, it's 50/50, so committee leadership would then depend on which party wins the presidency (because the vice president gets to break ties).
If the GOP prevails, then Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the ranking member, would be in line as the next chair — and he is a fan of blockchain technology.
If Democrats still prevail, then there's a decent chance that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) becomes the chair.
She's the most senior member who doesn't have a committee chair yet.
She could become a roadblock to any attempt to legislate on behalf of the industry.
The other side: If Warren is in the minority, she'll also be able to cause a lot of trouble for Scott as ranking member.
