U.S. Representative Brandon Gill (R-Texas) has disclosed fresh purchases of Bitcoin and shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), adding up to $300,000 to an already sizeable crypto portfolio. According to a periodic transaction report filed with the Clerk of the House on 18 November, Gill bought between $100,001 and $250,000 in Bitcoin on 20 October and a further $15,001 to $50,000 in IBIT on 29 October.
The first-term lawmaker, a former investment banker and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, sits on the powerful House Budget Committee. Since taking office in January, Gill has accumulated up to $2.6 million in Bitcoin, alongside as much as $150,000 in IBIT this year, according to House disclosures. Periodic transaction reports show he has been one of the most active congressional investors in the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin was recently trading around $92,000, down roughly 27% from an all-time high above $126,000 last month, underscoring the volatility of Gill’s personal bets. BlackRock’s IBIT has quickly become the dominant spot Bitcoin ETF, managing more than $70 billion in assets—over three times the size of its nearest rival—making it a key gateway for institutional Bitcoin exposure.
Delayed disclosures and STOCK Act scrutiny
Gill’s trading activity has also drawn attention for what government transparency advocates say are late disclosures. According to OpenSecrets, he failed to report up to $500,000 of earlier Bitcoin purchases within the 45-day deadline set by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. Two Bitcoin buys worth between $100,001 and $250,000 on 29 January and 27 February were not disclosed until 2 June.
The STOCK Act, adopted in 2012, is meant to curb insider trading and ensure public oversight of lawmakers’ financial dealings, including trades in digital assets. However, penalties for late filings are limited to a $200 fine, which ethics committees frequently waive, leading critics to argue that the law lacks teeth.
Gill’s latest purchases also come against a political backdrop in which the White House has embraced a more supportive stance toward crypto. His January Bitcoin trade occurred days after President Trump signed an executive order calling for lighter-touch regulation of digital assets. A further purchase in February preceded the administration’s announcement of a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” initiative on 6 March, raising questions among watchdogs about potential policy-linked trading.
Other Republicans have also moved into crypto-linked products. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) has disclosed up to $60,000 in IBIT purchases this year, while Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pennsylvania) reported selling positions in Bitcoin, XRP and Solana.
David Meyers, communications director at OpenSecrets, said in an email that crypto trades by lawmakers should be viewed through the same ethical lens as equities. What matters, he argued, is whether timely disclosure allows the public to judge if officials are acting in the public interest—or their own. With the president’s family now heavily engaged in the crypto industry, he added, perceptions of preferential access and influence are likely to grow.
For investors and regulators in Europe, the episode will add to a wider debate over how closely elected officials should be allowed to align their personal portfolios with the industries they oversee. As the EU rolls out its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and continues to debate a digital euro, U.S. political trading scandals may reinforce calls in Brussels for stricter conflict-of-interest rules and more robust transparency around digital asset holdings.