Senator Dave McCormick's recent Bitcoin ETF investment – up to a cool million – has raised more than just eyebrows. It's ignited a firestorm of questions about ethics, influence, and the potential for crypto to become just another playground for the powerful. Though his spokesperson claims it’s all on the up-and-up, I’m not convinced. Are you?

Inside Knowledge Equals Inside Profits?

Here's the deal: McCormick sits on the Senate Banking Committee's digital assets subcommittee. Yet, this is the same group that has been shaping crypto legislation, including behind-the-scenes negotiations on the BITCOIN Act of 2025. We’re glad that he’s literally in the room where it happens. Then, boom, he's buying Bitcoin. Coincidence? I think not.

And it’s more than just the funding, again, it’s about the access. Picture having a heads up about the latest proposed regulations before they ever hit the street. Wouldn’t you make investment decisions accordingly? This isn’t his next random stock pick; this is an investment in an asset class his own committee directly controls and impacts. It smells like a cherry-picked insider play to profit off of privileged information. And finally, what kind of signal does it send to the average American who is working hard just to get by? That the rules only apply to those at the bottom? That the game is rigged?

Trump, Lummis, and the Bitcoin Brigade

The plot thickens. Interestingly, McCormick’s Bitcoin purchases came on the heels of Senator Cynthia Lummis introducing a bill to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the US government. Perhaps most significantly, Lummis already has Trump’s endorsement for her proposal. Trump himself may be out of the picture, but he has already trumpeted his desire for the US to become the “Crypto Capital of the World. It begins to feel like it’s a deliberate campaign, a cabal even, to undermine the good work and push the opposite agenda.

And of course, we can’t leave out the Trump family’s own crypto entanglement. And World Liberty Financial, which has some connections to the Trumps, is selling partnerships for $15,000 each. It’s a murky mix of political clout, monetary gain, and future good graces.

This stings too much to not remind me of the 2008 financial crash. You may recall, during the 2008 crash, the banks that were “too big to fail”. They used their considerable political clout to demand deregulation. So, they made risky moves with our economy, and when it all came crashing down, we the taxpayers were right there to bail them out. Are we now on the same course with crypto? Will we see a future where powerful politicians and their wealthy friends manipulate the crypto market for their own benefit, leaving ordinary investors holding the bag?

Is This Crypto's Tobacco Moment?

Think back to the tobacco industry. Public health charity over the last four decades—these companies lied to Americans about the dangers of smoking, while pocketing billions. They deployed political donations, lobbying, and astroturfing to protect their profits at all costs—even when faced with mounting deaths. Is crypto heading for a similar reckoning? Will we look back in a few years and see this era as a time when powerful individuals exploited a nascent industry for their own gain, consequences be damned?

The stakes are high. In its idealistic form, crypto offers the alluring benefits of decentralization, trustlessness, and democratization of finance. If it becomes a tool used only by the rich and connected, they will use the hell out of it to their benefit. If so it will have failed all of the rest of us. It will just have become what it was meant to unseat.

We should demand increased transparency, more rigorous standards and oversight, and a reimagination of what it means to behave ethically from participants in the crypto universe. We require robust investigations of all instances where conflicts of interest may exist. Equally important, we need to level the playing field so that all participants are subject to the same criteria. Perhaps more importantly, we all need to keep in mind that crypto is not about getting rich. It’s about creating a safer, more fair and more equitable financial system for everyone.

We shouldn’t let McCormick’s Bitcoin maneuvers be the opening shot in crypto’s corrupt future. By taking on these efforts together, we can build a future where crypto fulfills its promise of creating a better, more equitable world. The fate of our finance — and maybe even our democracy — rests on making it happen.

  • Demand Transparency: Contact your representatives and demand greater transparency in crypto regulations and financial disclosures.
  • Support Ethical Projects: Invest in crypto projects that prioritize ethics and community benefit.
  • Educate Yourself: Stay informed about the risks and opportunities of crypto.
  • Hold Leaders Accountable: Call out unethical behavior and demand accountability from those in power.

Don't let McCormick's Bitcoin play be a preview of crypto's corrupt future. Let's fight for a future where crypto lives up to its promise of a better, more equitable world. The future of finance, and perhaps even democracy, may depend on it.