Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, better known by the moniker AOC, has said she does not hold any Bitcoin—or any other financial assets for that matter—arguing that members of Congress should not hold or trade in financial products.
“Because we have access to sensitive information and upcoming policy, I do not believe members of Congress should hold/trade individual stock and I choose not to hold any so I can remain impartial about policy marking,” AOC said on Instagram.
“I also extend that to digital assets/currencies (especially because I sit on the Financial Services Committee). So the answer is no because I want to do my job as ethically and impartially as I can,” she added.
This is not the first time that AOC has chimed in on crypto.
In 2017, she was asked if she accepted Bitcoin as a political donation and said “Not till ActBlue does.” ActBlue is the payment processor of choice for political donations made to Democrats.
AOC may have drawn a line against holding any cryptocurrency or stocks, but other members of Congress view this issue differently—including when it comes to crypto.
Congress and Bitcoin
Members of Congress have to disclose their financial holdings. Financial disclosures are available for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. Executive Branch.
Those disclosures have been gathered on the bitcoinpoliticians.org website, which details which members of Congress hold cryptocurrency, and to what amount.
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), for example, holds between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin. She has earned the title of “Bitcoin Senator” due to her Bitcoin-friendly policies. She is also the only Wyoming delegate to object to Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes during the 2020 presidential election.
Among the other five Congressional members that hold cryptocurrency investments, all are Republicans.
They include Michael McCaul (R-TX), Barry Moore (R-AL), Patrick Toomey (R-PA), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), and Michael Waltz (R-FL).
Notably, Patrick Toomey has been one of the loudest advocates for the crypto industry amid the community’s opposition to the infrastructure bill. The bill, once passed, poured over a trillion dollars into American infrastructure initiatives.