Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, questions U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger during the Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing on “Oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police Following the January 6th Attack on the Capitol, Part III”, in Washington, January 5, 2022.
Tom Williams | Pool | Reuters
Sen. Ted Cruz bought bitcoin during its dip last month, according to a new financial disclosure with the U.S. Senate.
The Texas Republican bought between $15,001 to $50,000 of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency on Jan. 25, according to the disclosure. He used the brokerage River to make the transaction.
At the time of the acquisition, bitcoin was trading around $36,000 and $37,000 during a sell-off that sparked fears of a “crypto winter.” The last time that happened was in late 2017 and early 2018, when bitcoin tanked as much as 80% from its then-record high. The digital coin is now trading around $41,500 as it starts to rebound. The currency hit a record high of $69,000 in November.
Cruz has been aligning himself with bitcoin in recent months, coming as Texas emerges as a bitcoin mining hub.
He spoke out in August against provisions in the bipartisan Senate bill that would have included new tax rules for crypto-trading firms and brokers. In November, Cruz proposed a resolution that would allow food vendors and other merchants serving Congress to accept cryptocurrency as payment.
Cointelegraph first reported the Jan. 25 transaction.