U.S. voters are placing cryptocurrencies near the bottom of their priorities for the 2026 midterm election, with artificial intelligence registering slightly higher salience, according to a new nationwide survey commissioned by CoinDesk. Just 1% of respondents identified crypto as their top concern, while 2% named artificial intelligence as their single most important issue, underscoring that digital-asset policy and related AI questions remain secondary to other pocketbook and security topics as the campaign year unfolds.

The findings come from a survey of 1,000 randomly selected registered U.S. voters conducted near the end of April by Public Opinion Strategies on CoinDesk’s behalf. The sample was evenly split between Republican- and Democrat-identifying participants (41% aligned with each party to some degree), and the poll carries a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.53%. Although crypto itself will not appear on the ballot, the industry has a clear stake in who controls Congress next year, and the poll offers an early read on how voters are weighing technology questions alongside broader economic concerns.

AI and Crypto in Voter Priorities

When forced to choose a single most important issue, respondents overwhelmingly cited the cost of living (36%), followed by jobs and the economy (13%) and Social Security and Medicare (11%). Other topics—including immigration and border security, healthcare, national security and government spending—drew single‑digit responses. Crypto ranked at the bottom, largely among voters leaning toward the Republican Party. Artificial intelligence, while still low on the hierarchy of concerns, edged ahead of crypto as a named priority at 2% and posted a more favorable image overall.

The contrast between crypto and AI is most apparent in favorability. Crypto’s favorability trailed both parties, with 30% expressing a favorable view. DeFi—described in the survey as finance on the blockchain—remains less familiar and less well‑regarded, with 17% viewing it favorably and only 60% saying they had heard of it. By comparison, artificial intelligence posted nearly even views: 46% favorable and 45% unfavorable. That margin suggests that while voters do not see AI as a defining ballot issue, they are somewhat more open to AI as part of the broader technology conversation than they are to crypto and DeFi at this point in the cycle.

Technology Awareness and Participation

Exposure to crypto is meaningful but not dominant. Just over a quarter of respondents (27%) reported having invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency, and another 27% said they had not yet done so but might in the future. Among those with holdings, 2% reported owning more than $10,000 in digital assets, 9% reported $1,001 to $10,000, and 12% reported $1,000 or less. The survey also found a link between political engagement and ownership size: among voters who said they were “much more interested” in this year’s election than in 2022, 49% reported owning $1,000 or more in crypto. While the data do not specify how voters connect crypto and AI in their personal technology use, the numbers indicate that at least a subset of highly engaged voters holds meaningful positions in digital assets as campaigns intensify.

Policy Landscape

The market structure bill—described as one of the most important pieces of legislation for digital assets—is viewed as the top priority for crypto policy. The bill known as the Clarity Act still has a route to becoming law before the end of the year, though it has taken longer than expected and must still clear several hurdles. Additional measures, including expected tax reform legislation, are likely to reach Congress in the coming months. While the survey did not test specific provisions, its results place crypto and AI in a wider policy frame where technology regulation is gaining attention but not displacing voters’ core day‑to‑day concerns.

Industry Response

Despite crypto’s low ranking as a top‑of‑mind issue, industry groups are devoting substantial resources to the 2026 map. Ahead of the election, the crypto industry has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to support candidates seen as friendly to digital‑asset development, after being the single largest donor industry in the 2024 election. Spending by various political action committees has accelerated in recent months, reflecting the sector’s effort to shape the debate over market structure, taxation and oversight even as average voters prioritize other matters.

Party Perceptions and Trust

The survey points to a complex partisan picture. Forty‑seven percent of respondents said Republicans are more supportive of cryptocurrencies, compared with 14% who said the same of Democrats. That does not necessarily translate into approval: when asked which party they trust more on crypto, Democrats held a slight edge—27% to 25%—while 40% said they do not trust either party. Within the favorability battery, voters leaning Republican registered a slightly more favorable than unfavorable view of crypto (41% to 39%), while base GOP voters (33% to 39%), independents (27% to 48%), Democratic‑leaning voters (26% to 54%) and base Democrats (25% to 58%) all viewed crypto more unfavorably than favorably.

Artificial intelligence once again stood apart in the perceptions data, with its 46% favorable reading outpacing crypto’s favorability and matching the near‑even split on unfavorability. That difference suggests that AI—while not a central issue—is positioned marginally closer to the mainstream of voter sentiment than crypto, a gap that could matter as lawmakers weigh how to approach overlapping questions about technology, data, markets and financial protections.

Election Context

As of press time, the most likely outcome of the 2026 election is that Democrats become the majority party in the House of Representatives, while the Senate remains dominated by Republicans. A generic ballot question in Public Opinion Strategies’ poll for CoinDesk gave Democrats a 44% to 41% edge, a margin broadly consistent with other public polling tracked elsewhere. Prediction markets currently reflect a closely contested upper chamber, with one provider showing the Senate at an even split, while ratings published in April indicated that Democrats face a tougher path to a Senate majority. The poll also recorded U.S. President Donald Trump’s net negative approval rating, with 40% approval and 60% disapproval.

What Matters for AI in Crypto

Two signals emerge from the data. First, crypto policy remains materially less important to most voters than economic pressures and entitlement programs, and AI ranks only marginally higher as a named priority. Second, attitudes toward AI are more evenly balanced than those toward crypto and DeFi, hinting that public conversations about advanced technologies may find broader receptivity when framed in terms of AI than when framed around digital assets alone. At the same time, almost two in five respondents said they would be more likely to support a candidate who shares their views on crypto—without specifying whether those views are positive or negative—suggesting that clarity on digital‑asset positions could still influence vote choice at the margins.

Finally, when asked directly about the importance of crypto to the 2026 election, 3% of respondents called it the “single most” important issue and another 22% labeled it important—an indication of greater awareness than several years ago even if salience remains low. CoinDesk plans to release data from this survey on Tuesday at Consensus Miami, extending the conversation about how voters see crypto—and how those views intersect with artificial intelligence—heading into November.