WisDems: ICYMI: U.S. Rep. Steil advocates for crypto while industry backs his campaign

MADISON, Wis. — Today, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Bryan Steil’s shady ties and advocacy for cryptocurrency companies and trading platforms all while serving as chairman for the subcommittee that oversees cryptocurrency regulation. Steil has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from individuals aligned with prediction market companies that trade on the real world events he has a direct impact in determining the outcome of, such as the war in Iran, and cryptocurrency trading platforms under investigation for failure to protect every day working people making small, first-time investments.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: U.S. Rep. Steil Advocates for Crypto while Industry Backs His Campaign
By: Ricardo Torres | 5/26/26

• On April 1, 2025, financial firm First Trust published a prospectus stating that it was starting an exchange-traded fund focusing on bitcoin and calling for interested investors. The fund allows investors to receive a return in bitcoin.   
• That same day, according to campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission, First Trust CEO Jim Bowen gave $100,000 to Steil Victory Fund, the political action committee associated with Wisconsin Republican Congressman Bryan Steil. 
• Steil is a member of the House Finance Committee and the chairman of the subcommittee Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence, which discusses proposed legislation on cryptocurrency, among other things.  
• When asked about his relationship with Bowen, Steil said:
• “I have relationships with a large number of people who I meet with on occasion,” Steil said, adding that he’s met with electrical and painters union members.
• Molly White, a former software engineer turned crypto critic, runs the websites web3isgoingjustgreat.com, which aggregates news of scams in the crypto and financial technology space, and followthecrypto.com, which tracks campaign contributions by cryptocurrency industries. White said she isn’t buying the rhetoric coming from politicians on the need for crypto regulation.
• “It’s really frustrating to me to see the extent to which industries like the cryptocurrency industry, but certainly not limited to the crypto industry, can exert influence over politicians who are intended to be representing their constituents, but now have this incredibly strong incentive to represent the interests of out-of-state tech companies and cryptocurrency companies,” White said.
• “Bryan Steil is elected to represent people in Wisconsin. I don’t think any of these cryptocurrency companies have a strong nexus in Wisconsin, but now we’re seeing him talking about how it’s so important to protect the interests of these companies.”  
• Steil said he’s been interested in developments in financial technology since he was put on the House Financial Services Committee in 2019. During the course of his political career he worked his way up through seniority and jumped at the opportunity to be chair of the subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence.
• “I requested it,” Steil said on how he got the subcommittee chairmanship.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Executives from Coinbase, Gemini, others support Steil Re-election
By: Ricardo Torres | 5/26/26

• The cryptocurrency and blockchain industries have become big funders in political campaigns, and in Wisconsin, more of those companies have put their money behind Republican Congressman Bryan Steil than any other candidate.
• Steil is the chairman of the House subcommittee on digital assets, financial technology and artificial technology, which discusses cryptocurrency policy.
• Legislating the cryptocurrency industry has looked very different under the Biden and Trump administrations, and some companies have benefited from the shift in approach.
• In 2023, Payward Inc. and Payward Ventures Inc., together known as the Kraken, were under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for being unregistered brokers and clearinghouses, which “deprived investors of significant protections, including inspection by the SEC, recordkeeping requirements, and safeguards against conflicts of interest, among others.”
• On March 7, 2025, Steil, along with House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and House Chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets Ann Wagner, sent a letter to SEC acting chairman Mark Uyedato urging him to “take additional steps to remove the inappropriate hurdles put in place by the Biden Administration.”
• Then, on March 27, 2025, the SEC dismissed the case against Kraken, citing “ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach to the crypto industry, not on any assessment of the merits of the claims alleged in the action.”
• In July and August 2025, Payward’s political action committee donated $3,500 to Steil Victory Fund and $3,500 to Steil for Wisconsin. Payward also donated $2,500 to Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee with Steil, which isn’t uncommon as crypto and blockchain companies generally donate to both major parties.
• Steil has a significant money advantage in his race for re-election with $5.5 million cash on hand compared to the highest Democrat, who has $140,000.
• The list of crypto, digital asset and blockchain companies that have supported Steil’s campaign is long, but he said he doesn’t believe there is any conflict of interest with his chairmanship.