The thing about the Democratic Party's crypto strategy is: It doesn't seem to have one.

Why it matters: Crypto dollars had an outsized impact on the 2024 election, but one party has earned all the plaudits since then for getting U.S. policy in line with the ambitions of digital asset entrepreneurs, and that's the GOP.

The big picture: Many Democrats have voted with the Republicans to advance pro-crypto legislation, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a Democrat articulating a digital asset agenda that meets the following two conditions:

1. It's distinguishable from the Republican agenda.
2. It would excite pro-crypto voters.

Between the lines: "This is not a top-of-mind issue for most members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats," says Adrian Hemond, CEO of Grassroots Midwest, a political firm that consults on moving opinion and moving citizens to take action.

• But Democrats, he noted, have paid for it. "One of the things that bit them the last election cycle was alienating a lot of folks in the tech world," he says.

Reality check: There's a reason why Republicans are going to leverage crypto more than Democrats, though, Hemond explains. Crypto owners skew young(ish) and male. That crowd is viewed as more gettable for Republicans than Democrats.

• "Republicans have leveraged that as a marginal multiplier in a safe seat primary," he explains. It's a way for an incumbent to leverage a little more strength, but a Democrat is unlikely to see the same bump.

"The Democratic base isn't preoccupied with the machinations of the crypto community," Basil Smikle, a Democratic political consultant and former leader of the New York State Democratic Party, tells Axios.

• It doesn't matter if someone from a working-class background is making money buying digital assets, somewhere, if most blue-collar voters don't personally know one of those people. Without that personal connection, it doesn't resonate, he explains.
• For that reason, the party isn't putting energy into it. "That's just not a conversation that's happening," he says.

Threat level: Another close-to-perfect storm could be coming for Democrats in 2026.

• A stablecoin law has passed. If a market structure law passes as well, boom times could come on the blockchains once again — just in time for the midterm election year.
• And the industry already has over $100 million ready to spend on filling Congress with friendlier faces.

State of play: Pro-crypto Democrats, if they say anything — which is rare — are likely to talk about putting more limitations on the industry out of concern for uninformed investors or they will criticize President Trump's profiting off the asset class while in office.

• The most vocal Democrats about the industry are folks like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D, Mass.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D, Calif.), who primarily speak about crypto as a driver of corruption.

My thought bubble: Pro-crypto voters are much less interested in being protected than they are in growth.

• And they're glad to have a president who is on their side (even if some of his moves make a lot of them uneasy).

The bottom line: The political problem with making a point of attacking digital assets is that it doesn't win new voters.

• "Only one side of that equation has skin in the game. If you're invested in crypto, you're going to want to see that investment pay off," Hemond says.

Money gets all the attention in politics, but the crypto industry also has a decent ground game via another organization, Stand With Crypto.

Why it matters: When people are trying to advance some kind of agenda, lawmakers want to see real people in their districts who care about that agenda.

• Research and polls are powerful, but everyone has reason to be skeptical.
• However, if a real voter — the grassroots variety — calls up an elected leader's office and says, for example, that they'd like to see them vote for the CLARITY Act, that's signal.

Finding those people is a slog, but it pays off for organizations that can.

• Mason Lynaugh, Stand With Crypto's community director, tells Axios that the organization expects to hit 2.5 million signups by the end of the year.
• They are also targeting chapters in all 50 states, with volunteers helping to launch events and activities across the country. They have 30 chapters now.

Catch up quick: Coinbase, the exchange, initiated the project in 2023.

• Since then, Coinbase and other crypto companies have splashed information in their applications about the initiative to help it seed advocates.
• But it's been growing on its own, online and in person, since then, according to Lynaugh.

"2026 is going to be, I think, turbocharging the way that these state chapters and these communities engage with crypto advocacy, because they're going to have something to rally toward," Lynaugh says.

• Axios connected with two of these state leaders, in New Jersey and Nevada.

Mike Wilson leads the Nevada chapter. To a degree, it's an extension of work Wilson has been doing for years, helping people interested in cryptocurrency network with each other.

• He has 30,000 people around the state on his list and a regular rotation of events. He said his group had been looking for a way to get involved in crypto advocacy when Stand With Crypto came along.
• One kind of activity that Lynaugh told us to look for is around this month's congressional recess, when lawmakers are home and will be connecting with constituents. Wilson said the Nevada chapter will show up at every town hall in the state this month.

In New Jersey, Carlos Ivan Merino, like Wilson, had an organization before becoming the Stand With Crypto chapter president. He also runs the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Alliance.

• He was teaching young people in 2017 how to engage with political leaders, and they, in turn, taught him about Bitcoin and Ethereum. He said he's been interested in the topic ever since.
• In his state, investors have been pushing for state regulators to change course on staking. The securities regulatory authority has ruled that staking falls under securities regulations, so it's been disallowed there.
• The organization held a get-out-the-vote rally before the June gubernatorial primary, so interested candidates could meet crypto voters.

The bottom line: "There's an education piece that's missing, not only in the consumer side but in the political side as well," Wilson says. "While the politicians are very engaged, they need to learn more."

• Both leaders participated in Stand With Crypto's lobby day in May in D.C. Lynaugh said they turned out about 65 voters from around the country for that, who met with staff all day to discuss their support for updated laws and regulations.

🏛️ The CFTC is exploring a plan to allow federally regulated futures exchanges to host spot crypto trading. (Bloomberg)

🏦 The White House is preparing an executive order that, if signed, would direct bank regulators to investigate possible instances of discrimination against conservatives and crypto companies. (WSJ)

💰 Bullish is seeking to raise up to $629 million in its IPO, valuing the company at around $4.2 billion. (The Block)

📻 Because no one demanded it: The Spotify proclivities of major crypto leaders, revealed at last. (Decrypt)