Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Democrats secured control of the US Senate in the midterm elections, potentially reshaping the outlook for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Meanwhile, prediction markets saw record midterm trading volumes as traders wagered on control of Congress, and Kraken restricted accounts linked to a suspected $133 million crypto theft involving an unidentified European Union entity.Democrats claim control of the US SenateDemocrats have won control of the US Senate after flipping Republican-held seats in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas and Iowa, according to the Associated Press.The majority was secured after Democrat Senator Josh Turek won the Senate race for Iowa, bringing Democrats and independents who caucus with them to 51 seats.The result reshapes the outlook for the stalled CLARITY Act and determines which lawmakers lead committees overseeing the industry. Democratic control could also bring more congressional scrutiny of Trump-linked crypto businesses and regulators’ decisions. Control of the Senate could also affect confirmation of future presidential nominees to regulatory posts. US midterms: Prediction markets favor Democrats in key crypto racesAs Americans across the country head to the polls for the US midterm elections Tuesday, prediction market traders have spent months wagering on the outcome. According to an analysis by The Washington Post, nearly $1.9 billion in election-related contracts had traded on Kalshi and Polymarket as of Monday, marking record trading activity for a midterm election cycle.Markets on both platforms favor Democrats winning control of Congress, with a Democratic sweep priced at 75% on Kalshi and 75.5% on Polymarket as of 4:30 pm UTC. Kalshi traders gave Democrats a 93% chance of taking the House and a 75% chance of winning the Senate, while Polymarket priced those outcomes at 94.5% and 75.5%, respectively.The vote comes nine days after prediction markets failed to anticipate the outcome of Brazil’s presidential election, with Flávio Bolsonaro favored at roughly 80% the day before incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the runoff. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour reportedly cautioned that “a 5% probability doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” according to CNBC.For the crypto industry, a shift in congressional control could reshape the prospects for long-awaited regulatory clarity.“This wasn’t one mistake or one breach — it was a months-long campaign,” Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said in a Tuesday post on X.Kraken restricts accounts amid suspected $133M EU crypto theftKraken has restricted accounts linked to a suspected crypto theft of more than $133 million from an unidentified European Union entity and is working with law enforcement to support recovery efforts.“This incident did not originate on the Kraken platform, and we’re actively investigating reports that some of the assets were subsequently moved through accounts on our platform,” Kraken told Cointelegraph. “We’ve restricted the accounts in question and are working with law enforcement to support recovery efforts.”Kraken’s statement follows blockchain investigator ZachXBT’s disclosure on Tuesday that he identified another $27 million in withdrawals from centralized exchanges, increasing the suspected losses from the $106 million he reported on Monday. He said some withdrawals occurred after his initial disclosure.Bitquery reported that the suspected stolen funds were withdrawn from accounts at Kraken, Crypto.com and OKX. It also found that $62.98 million in stablecoins was converted into 27,553 Ether (ETH) within roughly four hours.Crypto.com told Cointelegraph that it had taken steps to prevent funds associated with the incident from moving through its platform.OKX acknowledged Cointelegraph’s request for comment and said it was looking into the matter.
