Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, introduced legislation that would let people use cryptocurrency to buy snacks and drinks at the Senate’s snack machines.
On January 25th, Cruz began drafting and introducing his legislation. If approved, it might affect how visitors to the US Capitol utilise cryptocurrency at vending machines and food service establishments.
According to the Senate’s website, a so-called concurrent resolution is frequently used to make or alter regulations that apply to both houses, and that is the legal basis for the proposed amendments. In this case, the president’s signature is not necessary for the bill to become law, but it still needs to be passed by the House and Senate.
Texas has become a major centre for mining cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC), and Cruz has largely welcomed this development. While touring a cryptocurrency mining facility this past summer, the senator proudly announced that he was eager to spearhead the Senate’s efforts to protect the cryptocurrency industry.
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Cruz has long been an outspoken supporter of cryptocurrency, singling out Bitcoin’s (BTC) decentralised nature as a specific strength of the cryptocurrency. The senator’s Bitcoin purchases last year totaled between $15,000 and $50,000. Back then, fears of a crypto winter were stoked by a sell-off. Between $36,000 and $37,000, bitcoin was trading hands.
The crowdsourced data project “Bitcoin Politicians” lists him as one of eight acknowledged crypto investors in Congress. These are only the ones we know about; other US lawmakers have been open to receiving bitcoin as payment for their services.
Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey and Wyoming senator Cynthia Lummis, who has written pro-crypto legislation, are both on record as being in favour of the technology. Recently, Pat Toomey introduced a stablecoin bill to establish a regulated framework for monetary transactions.
To the contrary, Senator Cruz is working to make Texas a haven for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He thinks it may replace conventional energy storage and be utilised in cryptocurrency mining to profit from the energy used to extract oil and gas.
