Senator Toomey invested in Bitcoin, Ethereum after asking for fewer crypto rules

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Senator Pat Toomey leaves the Senate Chamber during a break in the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Senator Pat Toomey, who recently advocated less stringent cryptocurrency regulations, disclosed investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Pennsylvania Republican, the most prominent member of the Senate Banking Committee, has invested up to $ 30,000 in total in Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ticker: ETHE) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). According to a disclosure Toomey filed with the Senate Public Records Office on Wednesday, he invested between $ 1,001 and $ 15,000 in each of the trusts on June 14.

On June 10, the senator wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing her concerns about recent proposals to regulate cryptocurrency transactions. Toomey noted that the proposals would negatively impact financial technology, fundamental American privacy, and efforts to curb illicit activity. He called for significant revisions.

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Toomeys’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear whether Toomey had made the investments himself or whether they had been made by a third-party advisor.

Toomeys’ cryptocurrency investments are its first on record; its annual financial report for 2019, the latest available, shows no crypto holdings.

The senator met with cryptocurrency lobbyists as recently as 2019. Also that year, Toomey spoke out against cracking down on Facebook’s (FB) cryptocurrency plans.

Grayscale notes on its site that Ethereum confidence has climbed 860% in the past 12 months, while Bitcoin confidence has jumped 260% during this period. Single-asset products are designed to track the market prices of Ethereum and Bitcoin, respectively.

Toomey said last year he did not plan to run for re-election in 2022, running a run in Pennsylvania for his seat.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barrons column covering the stock transactions of corporate executives and board members, called insiders, as well as major shareholders, politicians and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock transactions to the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory bodies.

Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.

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