Senator Ted Cruz buys Bitcoin and could become a powerful crypto ally

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz got into bitcoin last month, buying up to $50,000 worth of cryptocurrency as prices crashed.

The Republican lawmaker bought between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of bitcoin on Jan. 25, according to a financial disclosure, and used financial brokerage River to make the payment.

Cruz made the purchase at a time when bitcoin prices were plummeting, slipping below $40,000 after hitting $70,000 in November.

Bitcoin prices appear to have stabilized and rose 2.6% to $42,741 when last checked on Monday.

Cruz’s decision comes at a time when Joe Biden’s administration is scrambling to regulate the cryptocurrency industry.

Cruz has been a strong believer in cryptography. In November, he proposed allowing crypto payments at gift shops and vending machines in the US Capitol complex located in Washington, DC.

In August, he spoke out against what he called “harmful regulations” on the cryptocurrency industry in the bipartisan Trillion-Dollar Senate Infrastructure Bill.

“Let’s recognize that if we gathered all 100 senators in this room and asked them to stand up and articulate two sentences defining what a cryptocurrency is, you would get no more than five people who could answer that question” , said Cruz.

‘Oasis for the Blockchain Community’

Cruz isn’t the only senator buying crypto. In August, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., purchased bitcoin worth between $50,001 and $100,000. Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey also bought the cryptocurrency.

Cruz said he was proud that the Lone Star State “is becoming an oasis for the blockchain community, for bitcoin miners, for innovators and entrepreneurs in the crypto world.”

In recent years, Texas has attracted a growing number of crypto miners, the Texas Tribune reported, as they seek to take advantage of the state’s cheap energy and aversion to regulation.

The Texas Blockchain Council has stated on its website that its mission is “to advance blockchain technology initiatives that drive growth and benefit the citizens of Texas.”

Last week, crypto miners halted operations ahead of a major winter storm to ease the burden on the state’s power grid. Texas was hit by a devastating ice storm in February 2021.

Officials said 246 people died in the storm and Cruz was criticized for traveling to Mexico. Later, he called his trip a mistake.

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