“We must enact legislation that eliminates even the potential conflict of interest that lawmakers could have if their votes affect their financial portfolios — whether that be through individually held stocks or cryptocurrency,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger said. | Nathan Howard/APAt issue in the conflict is whether bipartisan legislation to restrict lawmakers’ stock trading should also apply to digital assets.
Spanberger and ethics watchdogs, as well as one key drafter of a previous stock trading crackdown, say the bill should treat crypto assets the same as stocks. But Roy is pushing back. Spanberger said in a statement that crypto and stocks are similar because they can both be highly speculative and influenced by the words and actions of lawmakers.
“Crypto assets are financial assets, and they should be treated the same as others,” said Gellasch, who now leads the Healthy Markets Association. “The conflicts of interest are particularly acute for crypto right now, given that Congress isn’t talking about rewriting a whole new rule book for stocks. They are for crypto.”