United States Congress members have a longstanding reputation for primarily investing in stocks, with only a select few opting for cryptocurrencies.
Notably, when they do choose cryptocurrencies, their preference usually centers around established assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). However, in what is considered a ‘wild trading,’ U.S. Representative Mike Collins has been revealed to be actively trading altcoins.
According to data provided by Quiver Quantative in an X post on August 26, Rep. Collins’s transactions indicate a highly active and possibly speculative trading strategy involving multiple transactions in a short period.
“We just caught a congressman day trading crypto altcoins. U.S. Representative Mike Collins bought up to $50K of Aerodrome on July 26th.<..> Pretty wild trading from a member of Congress,” the platform stated.
On July 26, 2024, Rep. Collins purchased up to $50,000 worth of Aerodrome (AERO), a relatively obscure altcoin in the cryptocurrency market. Just over a week later, on August 4, he sold his position, only to buy back into Aerodrome the very next day, on August 5.
During this time, AERO has traded in line with the broader cryptocurrency market. As of the latest update, the token was trading at $0.68, with weekly losses of about 3%. However, since the politician’s last purchase on August 5, the token has rallied 38%.
AERO one-month price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
This sequence of trades, involving significant amounts of money and rapid turnover, is unusual for a sitting member of Congress.
Rep. Collins VELO purchase
Additionally, the data shows that this is not an isolated incident. On July 11, Rep. Collins engaged in similar trading behavior, purchasing between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of Aerodrome and Velodrome (VELO), another altcoin, and then selling Velodrome within the same month.
At the time of writing, VELO was trading at $0.089, reflecting weekly gains of over 37%.
Implications of high trading altcoin trading activity
It’s worth noting that such trades have perennially raised suspicions of politicians having prior knowledge when making such purchases. In this case, concerns are likely to persist, especially considering that VELO and AERO share the same development team, a factor that suggests possible linked price performances.
Indeed, this is not the first time the politician has been involved in trading cryptocurrencies. For instance, at the start of 2024, Rep. Collins invested around $60,000 in Ethereum. Over that period, the asset experienced price fluctuations, recording losses of about 2% year-to-date.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
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