A financial disclosure filed quietly on December 26 has reignited the debate over congressional stock trading, after U.S. Senator David McCormick (R-PA) reported a series of significant Bitcoin-linked investments. The disclosure, released just as Washington emptied out for the holiday recess, reveals that the lawmaker purchased up to $200,000 worth of Bitcoin exposure in late November, a period coinciding with critical discussions in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs—a body on which McCormick sits.
The timing of the filing, traditionally known in political PR circles as a “news dump,” has drawn scrutiny from ethics watchdogs who argue that buying volatile assets while regulating them presents an unavoidable conflict of interest.
The ‘Holiday Dump’ Strategy
The disclosure details a flurry of activity in the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) during the Thanksgiving week, a time when market volumes are typically thinner. According to the filing, McCormick executed two major purchases—each valued between $50,001 and $100,000—on November 26 and November 28. These were preceded by smaller tranches: a $15,001 to $50,000 purchase on November 25, and another $50,001 to $100,000 buy on November 24.
By waiting until December 26 to report these trades, the Senator’s office complied with the 45-day reporting window mandated by the STOCK Act but effectively buried the news during the lull between Christmas and New Year’s. “The transparency is technical, not practical,” said one ethics lawyer. “Filing on Boxing Day ensures the fewest possible eyes are on the data.”
A Seat at the Regulatory Table
The trades are particularly sensitive given McCormick’s committee assignments. U.S. Senator McCormick, as part of the Senate Banking Committee and its Digital Assets Subcommittee, has direct responsibility for writing the rules and regulations around the digital assets he is purchasing. The Digital Assets Subcommittee has been active this quarter, with a lot of activity surrounding the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. This legislation, if passed, could greatly enhance institutional investment in Bitcoin ETFs, such as BITB. Critics have argued that it creates the illusion of an advantage for a senator to “buy the dip” on a digital asset under review by a Senate committee he sits on, even if it is perfectly legal. McCormick, who was the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, defended his investment in cryptocurrency as a conviction in American innovation with the idea that Bitcoin serves as a modern day reserve asset and a critical component of Economic Sovereignty.
Buying the Dip
Based on the data revealed in this disclosure, it appears that a savvy investor is taking advantage of volatility. The trade executed on November 25 had a gain in excess of 2.29% and indicates that the Senator caught the short-term bottom. Conversely, the trade executed on November 24 had an approximate loss of 0.72%.
The method of “dollar-cost averaging” (buying various amounts over a period of time) is usually associated with professional traders, and it is likely that he learned this type of technique while working at one of the largest hedge funds in the world. These most recent transactions further confirm that McCormick is becoming one of the largest publicly known crypto investors in Congress, with allocations to his account in excess of a million dollars in total for 2025.
Hedging with Munis
Interestingly enough, the December 26th filing was not only focused on high-risk digital asset categories, but also included a shift toward investing in Municipal Bonds as a “defensive” play. This indicates that the company is currently pursuing a “Portfolio Reallocation Strategy”.
The Senator reported purchasing up to $250,000 in Ohio State University general revenue bonds and up to $500,000 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania general obligation bonds on December 17. Earlier in the month, he acquired massive stakes in Pennsylvania state and Turnpike securities. With coupon rates near 5%, these tax-exempt instruments provide a stable, conservative counterweight to his aggressive Bitcoin bets, highlighting a sophisticated “barbell” investment strategy that few other lawmakers employ.
Legal, But Is It Right?
Although the timing raises suspicions, there is no evidence that McCormick has committed any criminal acts. The STOCK Act of 2012 prohibits members of Congress from using insider information to conduct trades but does permit members to engage in trade activity involving assets or instruments that they regulate, as long as they make the required disclosures within 45 days of executing such trades.
In addition, due to the controversial nature of Bitcoin and other crypto-related activities in Congress, and the fact that McCormick is a member of the Banking Committee and has actively traded Bitcoins, there are still many questions and concerns regarding the ethics of his activities surrounding cryptocurrencies. As the 119th Congress heads into 2026, these trades are likely to fuel renewed bipartisan calls for a complete ban on congressional stock trading—a measure that, ironically, McCormick’s own committee would have jurisdiction over.
