- Cynthia Lummis and Pat Toomey are the only two US senators invested in crypto, the Wall Street Journal found.
- Lummis and Toomey are part of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees banks and coinage.
- According to the report, nine House members and five White House staffer are also invested in crypto.
Cynthia Lummis and Pat Toomey are the only two US senators invested in cryptocurrencies, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, and Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, also sit on the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees banks and coinage and has questioned crypto experts on the industry.
Lummis, known as a crypto evangelist, owns five bitcoin worth about a quarter of a million dollars, while Toomey has a smaller share in the industry, the Journal reported, citing its own intensive review of financial documents.
The senators did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. To the Journal, Toomey asked what part of the economy US lawmakers aren't involved in that could be a conflict of interest. Lummis, whose portfolio also includes her family cattle ranches, told the Journal that for people who say she should sell her bitcoin, she responds, "It's a commodity. Should I also sell my cows?"
Lummis has become well-known for being a crypto advocate in Congress. Her campaign accepted bitcoin contributions, and her home state of Wyoming has passed several crypto-friendly laws.
According to the Journal's report, at least five White House staff and nine members of the US House of Representatives also are invested in cryptocurrencies. Those House members include Florida Republican Michael Waltz, Massachusetts Democrat Jake Auchincloss, Tennessee Republican Mark Green, California Democrat Alan Lowenthal, Texas Republican Michael McCaul, Alabama Republican Barry Moore, Illinois Democrat Marie Newman, Colorado Democrat Ed Perlmutter, and Jeff New Jersey Republican Jeff Van Drew.
Lawmakers are legally allowed to invest in assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies, though they must publicly disclose trades, according to the rules of the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act.
But a recent Insider investigation found dozens of members of Congress and top Capitol Hill staffers have been late in filing their stock tradesthis year and last, though.
Meanwhile, some savvy day traders have begun mirroring investing activity of prominent lawmakers and their spouses, like Paul Pelosi, husband to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.