Meet Washington’s ‘Crypto Queen’, a Republican senator who owns $ 100,000 in bitcoin and wrote a bill to finally regulate the industry
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Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis is the congressional resident cryptocurrency enthusiast.
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She owns a large bitcoin stake and sponsored a significant cryptocurrency account.
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The bill will help to classify coins as either commodities or securities, and decide which agency will regulate them.
Senator Cynthia Lummis is known on Capitol Hill as “Crypto Queen.”
The Republican from Wyoming has earned a reputation as a cryptocurrency educator in Congress, demystifying and advocating for technology among his older colleagues.
She is a self-described HODLer, crypto-talker for someone who invests in bitcoin as a way to get in before it takes over larger parts of the financial system. In June, she introduced a bill, along with Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, to some of the first federal car protections for the growing and largely unregulated world of decentralized finance.
“There are groups that do not want any regulation. There are other groups that want to completely ban digital assets,” a spokesman for Senator Lummis told Insider. “We need to meet somewhere in the middle to ensure that bad players do not take advantage of the lack of regulatory clarity, but also that innovators can continue to develop new technologies that make the world a better place.”
From Wyoming to Washington
Sen. Lummis (pronounced rhyming “hummus”) served as treasurer of her home state of Wyoming from 1999 to 2007 before winning the Wyoming seat in the US House. She served as deputy chair of former President Donald Trump’s presidential transition team after he won the 2016 presidential election.
In 2020, Senator Lummis (66) became the first woman to be elected senator from the state of Wyoming. That same year, she also became the Senate’s first crypto-owner.
Lummis bought bitcoin in 2013, and she reported in October 2021 that it was somewhere between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000. However, she told Protocol last week that she put her bitcoin holdings in a blind trust after receiving setbacks for owning the digital assets.
But her passion for technology – and her eagerness to learn – puts her leagues ahead of many of her peers.
“I’m catching it, and I need to help my fellow Congressmen catch it again,” Senator Lummis told Reason in October 2021.
So what would the bill do?
A key component of the law on responsible financial innovation is how to classify digital assets (goods or securities) and which agency should regulate them.
This is a question that has long plagued the industry. Many companies have long embraced the idea of the Securities and Exchange Commission supervising digital assets, and many prefer the Commodity Future Trading Commission’s supervision instead.
The legislation partly agrees.
“Digital assets that meet the definition of a commodity, such as bitcoin and ether, which account for more than half the market value of digital assets, will be regulated by the CFTC,” the bill said.
Sen. However, Lummis has said that the SEC will continue to play a key role in warning consumers about minor cryptocurrencies that could be fraudulent.
“These are assets that need disclosure, where the public needs consumer protection because some of these are just fraudulent,” she told the Protocol.
Is she the best person to write the bill?
Some are skeptical of Sen. Lummis’ rude pro-crypto-glow, given her influence in Congress and fanfare in the industry.
It “questions whether she approaches this bill from a perspective of wanting the best for society as opposed to wanting what will benefit an industry in which she is closely associated and directly invested,” Dylan Hedtler Gaudette – head of state affairs at the project on state supervision – told Insider. “It’s a classic conflict of interest, simple and straightforward.”
But on the other hand, some believe her enthusiasm is an advantage in policy-making.
“Senator Lummis’ interest in crypto reflects the position of many in the industry, and it is important that all parties are represented in regulatory dialogue as it unfolds,” Kenneth Goodwin, director of regulatory and institutional affairs at Blockchain Intelligence Group, told Insider. “That said, the bill is significant in its stance on how to designate cryptocurrencies and enforce breaches accordingly.”
As for the nickname given to her, “Crypto Queen” by Congress, Senator Lummis is all for it.
“It makes her laugh,” a spokesman for the senator told Insider. “This community is so passionate.”
Read the original article on Business Insider
