The pro-cryptocurrency lawmaker is unfazed by the crypto winter or threats from his colleagues to outlaw Bitcoin in 401(k)s.
Despite pressure from her colleagues, pro-cryptocurrency United States Senator Cynthia Lummis has maintained her position that Bitcoin should be included in a balanced retirement portfolio.
Lummis seems to be one of the few openly crypto-friendly legislators in the United States, and he and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand have both made efforts to advance crypto legislation.
On December 12th, Lummis explained to online news source Semafor that the crypto winter has not weakened her belief in BTC and that she still wants to see the currency incorporated in United States 401(k) retirement plans:
Since Bitcoin is unique among cryptocurrencies, I feel confident in advocating for its inclusion in retirement portfolios.
A personal conviction, solely based on its scarcity,” Lummis added, “is that Bitcoin will go up since there are only going to be 21 million Bitcoin that are mined.”
The senator, though, said that “the jury’s still out on other cryptocurrencies.”
These statements represent a shift in tone from the retirement plans Lummis revealed in June 2021.
While she had previously advocated for the introduction of other cryptocurrencies, it now seems that crypto winter and the current FTX crisis have caused her to reconsider her position.
And, as Lummis put it, “I’d also want to see people be allowed to utilize Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies of their liking that are secure, that have overcome the obstacles of anti-money laundering and the Bank Secrecy Act.”
On the other side of Capitol Hill, senators like Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith, and Richard Durbin are using the current market upheaval to renew their demands for Fidelity Investments to phase out their Bitcoin-linked 401(k) retirement scheme.
The three senators cited the FTX scandal in a letter to Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson dated November 21. They urged Johnson to stop including Bitcoin (BTC) risk in retirement plans.
A spokesperson for Adams, Jonah Allon, stated, “As with any financial product, price variations are an anticipated part of the market, and it is foolish to conclude that setbacks in a sector are an indicator that it will not achieve long-term development.”
Sen. Jon Tester said earlier this week that he saw “no reason why” cryptocurrencies should exist at all, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently exclaimed, “Finally, there are more people blowing the bullshit whistle.”
