In brief
- Republican Brandon Gill filed two Bitcoin disclosures weeks past the legal deadline.
- The STOCK Act violation carries a minor fine, but concerns about transparency persist.
- Gill is part of a Trump-aligned group of lawmakers who are investing in and promoting crypto.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) failed to properly disclose up to $500,000 in Bitcoin purchases within the 45-day window mandated by federal law, OpenSecrets reported Monday, raising fresh questions about transparency and conflicts of interest among crypto-investing lawmakers.
Gill reported buying between $100,001 and $250,000 in Bitcoin on both January 29 and February 27—but only disclosed the trades on Monday, well beyond the deadline required under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.
Decrypt has contacted Gill’s office for comment.
Passed in 2012, the STOCK Act is designed to curb insider trading and ensure accountability by requiring timely reporting of lawmakers’ securities transactions, including those involving digital assets.
However, the law is somewhat toothless, with violators facing only a $200 fine that congressional ethics committees frequently waive.
Gill is a vocal supporter of crypto, and his January trade came days after former President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for reduced regulation on digital assets.
His February buy occurred just before Trump unveiled a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” initiative on March 6. Gill made two additional Bitcoin purchases in May, which were reported on time.
Trump ties
The lawmaker, a member of three House committees and son-in-law of conservative commentator and Trump donor Dinesh D’Souza, who Trump pardoned in 2018 for criminal campaign finance violations, has become prominent among Washington’s growing pro-crypto bloc.
He’s backed several bills aimed at deregulating the industry and is known for a controversial proposal to replace Benjamin Franklin with Donald Trump on the $100 bill.
Gill is hardly alone in making investments in crypto while supporting policies favorable to the industry.
Since returning to office, Trump and his family have launched or endorsed numerous digital asset ventures, from NFTs to unlaunched DeFi platforms. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr., are also involved in several crypto projects.
The push for looser crypto rules has coincided with significant financial gains for its political backers.
The SEC has dropped several investigations into crypto firms under the current administration, while lawmakers, including Vice President JD Vance, have praised the industry at high-profile events.
In response, Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), have introduced bills to prohibit elected officials and their families from owning or launching crypto projects while in office. So far, such measures have failed to attract Republican support.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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