U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who has arguably been the closest pal to the crypto sector in Congress, won’t seek another term, she mentioned in an announcement on Friday.
The primary-term lawmaker will name it quits after her six-year time period ends in January 2027, leaving a Republican seat open in extraordinarily pink Wyoming, but in addition eradicating a serious ally for the digital property trade. Lummis has been the inaugural chair of the primary subcommittee devoted to crypto issues on the U.S. Banking Committee, the place she’s pushed crypto-friendly laws as a prime precedence.
Even now, she’s among the many main negotiators for the crypto market construction invoice, which can draw members again to the bargaining desk after the vacation break. She’ll nonetheless be there in what could also be a final push for the industry’s top legislative goal in 2026.
“Deciding to not run for re-election does characterize a change of coronary heart for me, however in the troublesome, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve come to just accept that I shouldn’t have six extra years in me,” Lummis mentioned in the assertion, launched because the chamber deserted Washington for the break. She equated herself with a sprinter who has been operating in a marathon. “The power required doesn’t match up,” she mentioned.
Time and again, Lummis has launched payments meant to ease a path towards regulatory acceptance and the federal government embrace of crypto. These have included broad market construction efforts, crypto tax proposals and the laws to ascertain the federal government’s bitcoin stockpile.
Although the congressional midterm elections in 2026 can be a high-stakes political battlefield in which the social gathering majorities in each chambers can be on the road, the final time a Democrat held a Senate seat in Wyoming was in the Seventies. In Lummis’ 2020 campaign, she took virtually 73% of the vote.
“I’m honored to have earned the assist of President Trump and to have the chance to work aspect by aspect with him to combat for the individuals of Wyoming,” Lummis mentioned in her assertion. She mentioned she’ll be “throwing all my power into bringing necessary laws to his desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican management of the U.S. Senate.”
Crypto advocates are already lamenting her departure. Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, referred to as her a “main champion for digital property in Washington.”
“Her deep understanding and conviction have helped elevate digital property coverage and strengthen U.S. innovation and management,” Kim mentioned in an announcement on Friday.
Learn Extra: Key U.S. Senator on Crypto Bill, Lummis, Negotiating Dicey Points With White House
UPDATE (December 19, 2025, 22:04 UTC): Provides remark from CCI’s CEO.
