US Congressman Mike Collins buys ETH worth $80k

Republican Mike Collins, re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, holds Ethereum.

Collins disclosed an investment in Ethereum (ETH) worth nearly $80,000, according to the platform Quiver Quantitative. The platform, which tracks investment purchases and trades of key public figures, shared this via a post on X on Nov. 8.

As well as Ethereum, the lawmaker has reportedly also purchased $15,000 worth of Aerodrome (AERO). Aerodrome is an automated market maker and decentralized exchange that functions as the central liquidity hub for Base, a layer-2 network on Ethereum launched by Coinbase.

Rep. Collins disclosed the ETH investment just three days after Donald Trump resoundingly won the U.S. election to send crypto skyrocketing. Ethereum price rose alongside Bitcoin (BTC) as sentiment flipped extremely bullish following Trump’s victory.

However, the native token of the smart contracts platform that’s the largest home of decentralized finance protocols, has yet to rally as BTC has. ETH is still nearly 40% off its ATH above $4.8k reached in May 2021 and has yet to master a fight back to reclaim its year-to-date high above $4k reached in March.

While not the first Congressman to disclose they hold cryptocurrency as part of their portfolio, Collins’ move suggests a likely new trend as the crypto industry lays a mark on the U.S. legislative map with the highest number of pro-crypto elected candidates.

Sentiment for the U.S. crypto market is also largely positive as the industry looks to put behind it the negative approach of regulation by enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC, under Chair Gary Gensler, has over the past four years espoused a crackdown that critics say threatened to pull the U.S. to the back of the line in terms of crypto and blockchain innovation.

Trump promised to fire Gensler immediately he took office.

Read more: Trump is considering Robinhood’s Dan Gallagher as SEC Head Gary Gensler’s replacement: report

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