This Republican senator has lost tens of thousands of dollars on her bitcoin investments this year
- GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis reported owning between $100,000 and $250,000 of bitcoin in 2021.
- Bitcoin's value has plummeted by about 35% since Lummis' reporting date.
To date, 2022 has not been kind to bitcoin investors.
That includes Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
The Republican lawmaker, who sits on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is an avid investor in cryptocurrency, specifically bitcoin. While bitcoin has had its periods of intense growth, 2022 has yet to be one of them, sending recent investors into the red, Lummis included.
It's not clear exactly how much bitcoin was worth on the days Lummis originally purchased her stakes. But according to her annual financial disclosure for the year 2021, which she filed Monday, the senator reported owning between $100,000 and $250,000 in bitcoin on December 31. (Lawmakers are only required to publicly report the value of their assets in broad ranges.)
Using Insider's historical price tool, the value of one bitcoin on December 31, 2021, was $46,278. At the time of this writing, about five-and-a-half months later, the price has fallen to $29,965, a 35% decrease.
If Lummis' bitcoin wallet is worth the minimum amount that her report states, $100,000, she's lost $35,200 in investment value this year. If the value of her wallet is the maximum amount listed, $250,000, then the senator has lost up to $88,000, or more than half of her annual salary as a member of the Senate.
Lummis' Senate office did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
Lummis is one of several members of Congress who've invested in cryptocurrency at a time when President Joe Biden has directed the government to increase oversight of digital assets.
Congress itself has introduced numerous bills this session that in one way or another address cryptocurrencies — Lummis is among them — and some bitcoin advocates fear that new laws could profoundly affect their industry.