According to a recent CNBC analysis, eight of the highest ranked politicians in the United States or their immediate families have negotiated crypto over the past year – with bets ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.
A total of seven Republicans revealed that they bought or sold crypto, including Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, only one Democrat has reported Trade Representative Marie Newman of Illinois.
From Bitcoin to Dogecoin
While Bitcoin was the most popular crypto among top-ranked politicians in the US – with transactions totaling around $229,000, the analysis found lawmakers also got into memecoins – with around $32,000 in Dogecoin trade.
During this time, Ethereum emerged as the second most popular crypto, with legislator trades totaling around $40,000. However, members of Congress also did not fear alts like gimbal, Stellar, Celo, Chain link, Basic Attention Token, and EOS.
The analysis was based on congressional financial disclosures and information from Capitol Trades. Since trades are reported as a range, he relied on using midpoints to account for total trade activity.
As regulators mull over new rules for the cryptocurrency sector, it remains unclear whether crypto falls under proposals to ban Congress from trading individual stocks.
“Members of Congress shouldn’t be buying and selling company stocks here. I fought against this practice for a decade,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, who introduced legislation banning stock trading. CNBC. However, according to the Ohio Democrat, who also leads the Senate Banking Committee, “cryptography is more complicated than that.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Toomey opposes any trade bans, while supporting existing laws that mandate financial disclosure and bar insider trading from Congress. The top banking committee member purchased up to $15,000 from Grayscale Ethereum Trust and up to $15,000 from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in June, and according to his spokesperson – “his crypto investment is not as a reflection of major financial trends”.
The Pennsylvania senator became known as an industry advocate last summer thanks to the Wyden-Lummis-Toomey amendment to the controversial infrastructure bill, which attempted to limit the problematically broad definition of who qualifies in as a crypto broker.
“As crypto has become a significantly sized asset class, maintaining a well-diversified investment portfolio now means owning crypto,” according to Toomey’s spokesperson, who revealed that “crypto represents a very modest share – less than 1% – of its overall investment portfolio.
Limit the financial activity of Congress
In contrast, two of the lawmakers who have traded crypto in the past year said CNBC that they support limiting the financial activity of Congress.
Rep. Marie Newman of Illinois emerged as the only Democrat in the crypto trader group.
Her financial disclosures reveal that her husband invested between $15,000 and $50,000 in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in November, while another purchase of $1,000 to $15,000 was made in January through a joint account.
The spokesperson for the Democrats said CNBC.
“As part of the family’s overall savings program to pay for school fees, major family health care costs and retirement, Congressman Newman’s husband has been investing for years in various businesses on the basis of public information”,
“These transactions are conducted solely by her husband and are regularly disclosed in accordance with current House policy,” he noted, adding that Newman supports efforts to limit or prohibit transactions by lawmakers, including cryptography.
Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida also said CNBC he supports limiting congressional stock trading. However, the Republican did not elaborate on whether he would favor an outright ban, or whether crypto should be included.
Waltz bought Bitcoin twice in June, investing between $15,000 and $50,000 both times.
“From a public policy perspective, I think crypto and blockchain are good for consumers because they serve as a hedge against inflation, authoritarian regimes hate it, and democratize money for underserved people who are cut off. traditional capital”,
Waltz told CNBCadding that the investments in Bitcoin were made with guidance from its chief financial officer.
The Most Active Crypto Trader
Rep. Mark Green has been the most active crypto trader in Congress over the past year, according to the analysis — or at least his financial adviser was.
The Tennessee Republican reported 16 trades of around $1,000 to $15,000, mostly done through a joint account.
Green’s revelations reveal that he bought Dogecoin on April 1 at around six cents and April 14 at around 12 cents, while he sold memecoin on May 11 at around 50 cents.
According to his spokeswoman, Green’s transactions are handled by a financial adviser who has written instructions “not to follow any directions” from the man himself.
“Instead of more rules, what we need is more rule enforcement,” Green said in a statement to CNBC. “Anyone can search online for every stock held by any member of Congress. My investments are handled by a licensed broker, and my wife and I have no say in how those assets are handled. invested,” added the Republican.
Perhaps not the most active crypto trader in Congress, but the best known is certainly Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, who is said to have invested in Bitcoin since 2013, when the price was around $300.
The crypto-friendly Republican made her last leaked crypto purchase in August. The senator has bolstered her portfolio less than two weeks after a failed attempt to insert an amendment into the controversial infrastructure bill passed by the Senate. At the time, Lummis bought between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of Bitcoin, which she disclosed outside the 45-day reporting period set by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.
Texas Rep. Michael McCaul revealed his child invested between $1,000 and $15,000 in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, however, his spokesperson declined to comment.
Finally, the senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Representative Barry Moore of Alabama are the last two lawmakers on the list to trade crypto in the past year, however, the two Republicans did not respond with comment.
Considering that the STOCK Act reporting deadline is 45 days after the trade, it remains to be seen who bought the January drop, as well as whether anyone new has joined the congressional crypto club.
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