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Crypto After the Midterms: Regulation, Security, and 24/7 Markets

November 5, 2026

Video Transcript

JD Durkin: [Intro cut off] co-CEO of Copper. Really nice to see you here today. Grateful for a few minutes of your time.

Elin Cherry: Thanks, JD.

JD Durkin: Of course. I’m going to ask you to hold the microphone a little bit higher, if you don’t mind. It’s great to see you here. Okay, so obviously the markets, all of us Americans everywhere, waking up to a new world reality after last night’s midterm election. Democrats firmly in control of both chambers. A lot of questions about what that means specifically for crypto regulation. How are you thinking about that question today?

Elin Cherry: So I don’t think it means a lot for crypto regulation right away, because the administration still has control of the CFTC, the banking rules and regulations, and the SEC. So I think we can still expect to see some actions coming out, like we saw with the innovation relief that we had about a month and a half ago. So there’s still a lot that can happen with regulation during this time.

JD Durkin: Yeah, there had been a lot of optimism coming into 2026, now that the GENIUS Act was officially [unclear: “done for”], and the CLARITY Act passage just fell short in that Senate procedural vote. Are you thinking that Democrats, firmly in control of the Senate, will re-up those conversations? Do you think they might be on the back burner for the foreseeable future?

Elin Cherry: I really wouldn’t want to guess, because I do think that there is a lot of reason to start regulating in this space. So there could be interest. If you look at the hack from last week with Binance, the CFTC is out there saying, hey, if we’d been regulating, this hack wouldn’t have been what it was. So I think it’s going to be really interesting, but I wouldn’t say what’s going to happen.

JD Durkin: I’m glad you brought up the Binance hack. What an incredible story from last Thursday night into Friday’s session. How are you thinking about what could have or should have happened before to prevent what we ultimately saw, especially through the lens of regulation, Elin?

Elin Cherry: So first of all, I don’t think you can prevent it. I think you can mitigate it. But I think that everybody needs to be aware that it’s not preventable, but you can mitigate it with controls around hot wallets, how much money is in hot wallets, and things like that. So there are things that you can do on that side. You’re going to have to continue educating our employees.

What I worry about, when you hear the whole story behind it, with the employee interviews and the way they reached out and the social engineering behind it, that’s concerning. And that should concern everybody, not just employees of companies. The social engineering that they used to get into the company was quite sophisticated.

JD Durkin: And Elin, you know as well as anyone, there’s simply no doubt artificial intelligence is making attacks like this that much more sophisticated. How can consumers, how can people ultimately feel safe, knowing how aggressive, how smart, how advanced a lot of the technology is that’s being used by the threat actors around the world?

Elin Cherry: So I think for right now, I don’t think we can beat it right at the moment. I think right now we need to work on awareness. I mean, today, I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but Chainalysis had a cyber attack through AI. And Chainalysis does all the transaction monitoring for many crypto firms. So they were attacked through AI. The thing is, it’s important to have a plan for when the hack happens: what are you going to do? That’s the important thing right now, because I think it’s more about planning versus saying we’re going to be able to prevent it all.

JD Durkin: Finally, while I have you, the CFTC just approved perpetual futures on stocks. Our market’s inching a little bit closer to a world of 24/7 [unclear: “traded in an.”] If so, what would that mean?

Elin Cherry: I’m not a trader, so I’m not going to talk about what it means, of course. But 24/7 trading is there already. We’re already there. It’s just whether we’re fully in every market in the US. But I think 24/7 trading is happening already.

JD Durkin: Elin Cherry, co-CEO of Copper. First time on the show, I believe, right?

Elin Cherry: Yes.

JD Durkin: Yeah, absolutely. [unclear: “Crush it.”] Please come back and see us anytime. All right. Thank you. Thanks for joining us.

After the midterm elections, JD Durkin talks with Elin Cherry, co-CEO of Copper, about what a Democratic Congress could mean for crypto regulation. Cherry says she does not think it means much right away, because the administration still controls the CFTC, the banking rules, and the SEC, so she expects more actions like the innovation relief from about a month and a half ago. Asked whether Democrats in control of the Senate will revisit the CLARITY Act, which Durkin says fell short in a Senate procedural vote, she says she would not guess, but sees plenty of reason to regulate the space.

Cherry also discusses last week’s Binance hack, which she says cannot be prevented but can be mitigated with controls around hot wallets and how much money they hold. She says the social engineering behind the attack was sophisticated and should concern everyone, not just company employees. She adds that AI is making attacks more sophisticated, that she does not think we can beat it right now, and that the focus should be on awareness and having a plan for when a hack happens. She says she heard that Chainalysis was attacked through AI today.

On the CFTC’s approval of perpetual futures on stocks, Cherry says she is not a trader and will not speak to what it means, but says 24/7 trading is already happening, and the question is whether it reaches every US market.

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