Pro-crypto congressperson stacks, anti-crypto congressperson receives $100K from TradFi

Published at: July 7, 2021

News of two contrasting approaches to crypto from U.S. members of congress surfaced this week.

Alabama Rep. Barry Moore has been loading up on cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH), Cardano's ADA and Dogecoin (DOGE) over the past two months.

Meanwhile, anti-crypto California Rep. Brad Sherman — whose stated aim is to shut crypto down — has reportedly received more than $100,000 in campaign donations from top financial firms.

According to Friday's trading disclosures filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives, Moore purchased ETH on May 5, he bought ADA on May 10, 11, 13, and bought DOGE on June 13.

The filing, which misspells Ethereum as “Etherium” and crypto as “cryto”, doesn’t specify the exact amounts Moore invested but does provide a range between $1,001 to $15,000 for each purchase.

The maximum amount Moore could have spent is $75,000 and he may have been forced into a hodl approach, as all of his investments have taken a hit amid the crypto downturn that began around May 12.

Ether was priced at around $3,400 on May 5 and has since declined by 32% to sit at $2,300 at the time of writing, according to data from CoinGecko.

The Republican congressperson's committee assignments include the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Veteran’s affairs, and the 54-year-old hasn’t expressed his opinions toward crypto publicly. But actions speak louder than words.

Other pro-crypto Republicans include Senator Cynthia Lummis, who advocated for using Bitcoin as part of a diversification strategy for retirement plans last month.

Related: ADA, DOGE overtake BTC as the most popular cryptocurrencies for US eToro users

Brad Sherman

California's Sherman is one of the most vocally anti-crypto members of Congress, and he has called for crypto to be banned in the past and recently claimed that buying lottery tickets is more sensible than investing in crypto.

“Cryptocurrencies have the political support of the ‘patriotic’ anarchists who are rooting for tax evasion,” he said, and added that “I hope we shut it down.”

SO your going with "We need to keep up with China in restricting our citizens freedoms"?https://t.co/claRw8D92b

— Cameron (@BlevCam) June 30, 2021

A recent article from the Foundation for Economic Education highlights data from OpenSecrets.org that shows eight financial firms rank among Sherman’s top 20 donors for his 2020 campaign committee, including Capital Group Companies with $18,400, Blackstone Group with $16,800, BlackRock Inc with $11,250 and American Bankers Association with $10,000. Make of that what you will.

Tags
Regulation
Bitcoin Regulation
Us Government
USA
Congress
Related Posts
Law Decoded: Infrastructure woes and benevolent punishments, Sept. 27–Oct. 3
This week, United States lawmakers and regulators have stolen much of the spotlight once more. The cryptocurrency-related provisions of the infrastructure bill, a tiny grain of sand in the grand scheme of the omnibus legislation, had all laser eyes glued to the fateful House of Representatives vote — which never happened. There is a sense, however, that the bill will become law sooner rather than later. We have also learned from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifying to Congress that the Fed sees no use in a China-style blanket ban on cryptocurrency, eyeing tighter regulation of stablecoins instead. The latter …
Regulation / Oct. 4, 2021
Treasury attempts to squeeze further crypto-related data sharing provisions in budget bill: Roll Call
U.S. Department of the Treasury will reportedly push to extend the reach of new rules designed to govern the cryptocurrency space. Closely following the infrastructure package freighted with last-minute crypto taxation provisions is the upcoming budget reconciliation bill that could also see additional requirements for cryptocurrency businesses. Citing an unnamed official within the Biden administration, Roll Call reported on Monday that the administration is looking to append provisions to the budget bill requiring U.S. digital asset firms report information on their foreign clients. As with the infrastructure bill, the purpose of the potential regulation is to enhance tax compliance and …
Regulation / Aug. 31, 2021
Driving ‘purists beserk’: Co-chair of blockchain caucus wants to 'reverse' crypto transactions
Bill Foster, Democratic Representative and co-chair of the Congressional blockchain caucus, has called for a regulatory framework that would enable third parties to reverse fraudulent or criminal transactions. Foster is a physicist and a Democratic Rep for Illinois. The blockchain caucus is co-chaired by Democratic Rep Darren Soto, and Republican Reps Tom Emmer and David Schweikert. Speaking during an online event for news outlet Axios, Foster asserted that unless the Congress or the public can come up with a different solution to ransomware, U.S. regulators need to introduce a legal framework that can “unmask” crypto wallet holders’ identities and reverse …
Regulation / June 30, 2021
House passes digital asset innovation act to clarify crypto regulations
The United States House of Representatives on Tuesday passed H.R. 1602 — the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act — introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC). H.R. 1602 was among six bipartisan financial services-related bills passed by the House on Tuesday, with the McHenry-sponsored legislation focusing on regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies. Introduced back in March, the bill seeks to clarify the roles of agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the policing of cryptocurrencies in the United States. The bill also seeks to answer the ongoing debate of whether crypto tokens are securities or …
Regulation / April 21, 2021
Crypto and psychedelics: Clarifying regulations could help industries grow
This year, investors are watching for big spikes in biotech companies working with psychedelics, especially as the once-controversial compounds return to the spotlight touting mental health benefits — and uniting lawmakers at the United States Capitol across party lines. The category’s future could make big legal gains in 2023, but due to the American government’s built-in checks and balances, even a Congress in agreement can’t shape drug policy alone. In May 2022, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker and Hawaii Democratic Senator Brian Schatz co-published a letter imploring the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) …
Adoption / Feb. 8, 2023