Former Republican congresswoman and present Bitcoin holder Cynthia Lummis has received a seat within the U.S. Senate towards Democratic challenger Merav Ben-David.

In line with a Nov. 4 report from Fortune, Lummis was an early adopter of Bitcoin (BTC), having first purchased the cryptocurrency in 2013 due to a tip from her son-in-law, Will Cole. Cole has served because the Chief Product Officer at blockchain monetary companies agency Unchained Capital since December 2019.

“Cynthia believes within the philosophy behind Bitcoin, not simply that it’s a new asset class,” stated monetary agency Avanti’s founder and CEO Caitlin Lengthy. She later tweeted that Lummis need to defend Bitcoin “towards federal encroachment.”

Lummis, who defeated Ben-David with 73.1% of the vote, will probably be appearing as a lawmaker over a state that has been very accepting of crypto-friendly establishments.

San Francisco-based crypto trade Kraken grew to become the primary cryptocurrency enterprise to obtain a constitution to function as a financial institution in america by Wyoming’s State Banking Board. Final week, Avanti introduced the identical board had given it unanimous approval to launch a crypto-friendly financial institution underneath the identify Avanti Financial institution & Belief.

The College of Wyoming announced on Nov. 2 it might be launching a Heart for Blockchain and Digital Innovation which is able to enable college college students extra alternatives to review cryptocurrency and blockchain expertise.

The Republican senator’s BTC holdings makes her one of many few representatives within the U.S. Congress to personal cryptocurrency. Some representatives together with Florida congressman Darren Soto personally settle for contributions in crypto, whereas The Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Political Motion Committee launched an initiative in October to donate $50 BTC to campaigns for each member of congress as a part of its efforts to advertise crypto consciousness.

Lummis served because the consultant of the only real congressional district for the state of Wyoming from 2009 to 2017. She will probably be changing outgoing Republican senator Mike Enzi.