Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis has disclosed that she purchased a sizeable chunk of Bitcoin (BTC/USD). The Wyoming Representative revealed this news through a periodic transaction report on October 7. According to the filing, she bought BTC worth between $50,000.00 (£36,784.75) and $100,000.00 (£73,569.50) on August 16.
This disclosure comes outside the 45-day limit reporting deadline that the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act set. This law requires members of Congress to reveal the purchase and sale of individual stocks, bonds, and commodities within six weeks of the transaction.
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The STOCK ACT, however, exempts assets like mutual funds and T-bills from the 45-day reporting window. Instead, representatives that invest in such assets only need to report once a year. The different reporting periods prioritize the disclosure of trades that might see members of Congress make profits by leveraging non-public information.
According to a spokesperson at Lummis’ office, the delay was a result of a filing error. The spokesperson further noted that they acted quickly upon realizing the mistake, adding that they worked with the Ethics committee to fix the error.
The spokesperson went on to note that,
It was an honest mistake, and the issue has been resolved without penalty.
Going all-in on BTC, but not stablecoins
This news comes after Senator Lummis purchased her first BTC in 2013 when the flagship cryptocurrency was changing hands at $330 (£242.86). In June this year, the crypto-savvy Representative said she owned 5 BTC. During her August 16th purchase BTC was trading at $45,700.32 (£33,624.70) and $47,998.10 (£35,315.32). As such, her BTC wealth currently stands between 6 and 7 coins.
While Lummis is bullish on BTC, she recently criticized stablecoins, saying they should be fully backed by cash reserves. She added that only depository institutions or money-market funds, or similar vehicles should issue stablecoins. Lummis further noted that coins pegged to fiats in a 1:1 ratio lack transparency and should be subject to regular audits.
According to Quiver Quantitative, a data firm that tracks the trading activities of Senators, Lummis’ purchase is among the first Congressional crypto purchases. Before her, Pennsylvania’s Representative, Senator Pat Toomey, revealed that he had bought up to $15,000.00 (£11,029.88) of Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) on June 14 and up to $15,000.00 (£11,029.88) Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) on June 15.
Meanwhile, BTC has made a remarkable recovery from a crash triggered by China’s outright ban on crypto. At the time of writing, the coin is trading at $55,232.31 (£40,613.70) after gaining 1.27% in 24 hours and 22% over the past seven days.
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