Lawmakers in the United States have an informational edge over the public — and their committee assignments mean that they, quite often, regulate the industries they invest in. There’s no shortage of suspicious stock trades being made — but the sighting of a suspicious crypto trade on Capitol Hill remains a much rarer and more interesting occurrence.
While U.S. politicians still trade and invest in crypto on a much smaller scale than equities, there has been a notable uptick in activity since the start of the Trump presidency. Moreover, it’s apparent that lawmakers are not above using their unique advantages when it comes to digital assets.
Finbold’s senatorial trading radar picked up an interesting filing recently, which reveals that Dave McCormick, the junior senator from Pennsylvania, invested a large sum of money into the world’s leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC).
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McCormick’s suspicious crypto trade raises ethics concerns
Between February 27 and March 20, the senator made eight transactions — all of which involved the purchase of a BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) — the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB).
Put together, these trades are worth between $260,008 at the lower end of the reporting range and $600,000 at the high end.
BITB, which closely tracks Bitcoin’s price action, was down 12.18% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis at the time of writing.
So, what is it that makes this a suspicious crypto trade? For one, size — investing $600,000 in any asset in a downturn is a risky move. The wider cryptocurrency market has wiped out $100 billion in market capitalization over the weekend alone — and there’s nothing to suggest that the pullback will abate any time soon.
However, McCormick’s committee assignments are what make this a truly suspicious crypto trade. To be more precise, the senator is currently a member of the Senate Committee on Banking and, more importantly, a member of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets.
Despite long-term holders keeping steady, Bitcoin has failed to move to the upside in a meaningful, decisive manner ever since late February. Policy shifts or crucial political developments, which McCormick is well-positioned to catch wind of in advance, if not directly join in determining them, could serve as bullish catalysts that finally lead to a renewed uptrend for the leading cryptocurrency.
Featured image via Shutterstock
