Ted Cruz, the pro-crypto senator of Texas, US, has been expanding his Bitcoin holdings despite uncertainty on crypto regulations. In January 2022, when Bitcoin was struggling with losses, the 51-year-old Republican senator purchased a load of BTC tokens. As per a financial filing, Cruz invested between $15,000 (roughly Rs. 11 lakh) to $50,000 (roughly Rs. 37 lakh) to purchase the lot. The exact amount spent on this purchase remains unknown.
The transaction was made on January 25, when BTC was trading at around $37,000 (roughly Rs. 27 lakh). A screenshot of Cruz’s official filing was tweeted by news portal Watcher Guru on February 5.
Cruz has been supporting the adoption of crypto payments for months. He has proposed to allow crypto payments at the gift shops and vending machines at the US Capitol complex located in Washington, DC.
In recent times, Texas has emerged as a Bitcoin mining hub in the US. The state offers a 10-year tax abatement, sales tax credits, and state-sponsored workforce training to crypto miners attracting more of them, a report by Data Center Dynamics said.
With Bitcoin mining picking up steam in Texas, its grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has forecast a five-fold increment in energy loads in the coming days.
While the crypto regulatory guidelines are still being discussed by the US authorities, New York City and Miami are already promoting city coins for residents.
Other senators in the US have also come in support of Bitcoin, which has been touted as the modern-day equivalent to gold by billionaire Mark Cuban.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, has preferred to take his salary in the form of Bitcoin.
A number of Members of US Congress, including Democrats Jake Auchinloss of Massachusetts, Marie Newman of Illinois, Republicans Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, and Barry Moore of Alabama have disclosed holdings in cryptocurrency or related stocks in the US.
Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.