Crypto laments Lummis retirement, key ally on Capitol Hill
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., listens to a panel titled “Make the World’s Greatest Economy Work for All Americans” at the America First Policy Institute America First Agenda Summit on July 26, 2022 in Washington.
Sarah Silbiger | Reuters
The cryptocurrency industry is mourning the loss of its fiercest advocate on Capitol Hill after Senator Cynthia Lummis announced Friday that she will not seek reelection.
Lummis, R-Wyo., said last week that the “difficult, exhausting” final weeks of this year’s Congress led him to withdraw his re-election bid and that he was “coming to terms with the fact that I don’t have six more years.”
Lummis is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee’s crypto subpanel and a trusted ally for the industry; He helps introduce the Genius Act, the first of its kind to regulate stablecoins, in July. It is currently negotiating legislation as part of an industry-backed push for broader regulation of cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency interests have bemoaned his retirement, setting up a primary for his seat in ruby-red Wyoming in 2026.
“Senator Lummis has been a great ally on crypto; I am so sad to see him go!” White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks said: send to x.
Conner Brown, head of strategy and the Bitcoin Policy Institute, called Lummis “the Senate’s first and best Bitcoin expert.”
“We are incredibly fortunate to have had his leadership at so many critical moments for Bitcoin policy in these critical years,” Brown said.
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And coinbase Kara Calvert, vice president for U.S. policy, said Lummis “helped bring digital assets from the margins of policy debates and into the U.S. Senate.”
“I can’t think of a better way to end his legacy than by passing the landmark market structure legislation that he worked so hard to advance,” Calvert said.
Lummis was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 and served there until 2016. She was elected to the Senate in 2020, becoming Wyoming’s first female senator.
Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman is Wyoming’s only representative in the House of Representatives. People familiar with his thoughts he told NBC News Lummis is likely to run for his seat.
Whoever wins the Republican primary for the seat has a significant advantage in winning the general election. President Donald Trump led Wyoming by more than 45 points in the 2024 election.
Hageman defeated then-Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in 2022. Cheney lost Trump’s support after he voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and joined Democrats to investigate Trump’s behavior that day.
In a statement, Hageman praised Lummis for his work on crypto, saying Lummis’ “forward-looking approach reflects his belief that financial and technological progress can coexist and allow for individual freedom and financial security.”
