A member of Congress dipped her toes into crypto - and likely took a big hit
- US Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii bought ethereum and litecoin in December 2017, a financial filing shows
- Even if the Democrat bought the coins at their lowest prices of the month, she would still be well in the red today.
- Watch ethereum and litecoin trade in real time here.
Tulsi Gabbard could be the first member of Congress to have invested in cryptocurrencies.
According to a financial filing released Wednesday, the Democrat from Hawaii's 2nd district bought between $1,001 and $15,000 of both ethereum and litecoin in December of 2017. And while it's not clear the exact amounts purchased or the dates, its highly improbable the representative made a profit.
Even if Gabbard bought the digital coins lowest prices of December - $414 for ethereum and $83 for litecoin - she would have been in the red as of the disclosure's August 14 filing date, given the coins' respective prices of $278 and $54.56 on that day.
Gabbard's office did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The entire cryptocurrency market has gotten whacked since January, when the craze surrounding the nascent industry was nearing its peak. The flagship bitcoin has declined by 52% this year after hitting a peak of $19,843 shortly after the new year.
And while Gabbard's purchase might be the first by a sitting Congressperson to invest in cryptocurrencies, it's not the digital coins' first appearance on Capitol Hill. A "buy bitcoin" sign made the rounds on Twitter in July 2017 when it made an appearance behind former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen during her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.