One of the more unusual trades by a member of Congress in 2024 was Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) buying meme cryptocurrency Ski Mask Dog Coin SKI/USD, which led to the crypto soaring in value and later hitting all-time highs shortly after the disclosure.
A new filing shows Collins bought more after his last disclosure.
What Happened: The trading activity of members of Congress continues to be closely followed by investors as stock purchases can come ahead of key information and potential gains.
While members of Congress likely don’t have the same alleged insider information when it comes to cryptocurrency, trading activity in the sector warrants close monitoring, especially when it involves a meme cryptocurrency valued at around $225 million.
On Jan. 1, Collins disclosed that he purchased another $1,000 to $15,000 worth of Ski Mask Dog, adding to his previous disclosures in early December that he bought $2,000 to $30,000 worth of the meme coin.
The transaction, which can be viewed on Benzinga’s Government Trades page, came on Dec. 3. That means that the same day that Collins’ previous disclosed purchases began hitting the news, the Congressman was buying more of the coin.
Collins’ latest trade was once again marked as unusual by several prominent social media accounts that track congressional trading activity.
- “BREAKING: US politician Michael Collins has yet again bought crypto. He bought up to $15,000 of SKI MASK DOG, $SKI, crypto. Unusual,” Unusual Whales tweeted.
- “Congressman @RepMikeCollins just disclosed he bought more Ski Mask Dog on 12/3, the same day news of his first purchase broke and the coin rallied. So a Congressman single-handedly moved a market, then bought more, and disclosed it a month later,” Congresstrading tweeted.
Collins previously confirmed the purchase with Decrypt and also responded to a previous tweet from Unusual Whales with a meme of Pepe the Frog, a well-known image in the crypto community thanks to the meme cryptocurrency Pepe.
“I liked the coins, so I bought them,” Collins previously told Decrypt. “Washington and Wall Street have stigmatized emerging technology in the crypto ecosystem for far too long, and it’s about time that we start treating the industry with the respect it deserves.”
When asked about meme coins and if they need to be disclosed by members of Congress for trading activity, Collins said yes.
“Meme coins should certainly be treated as any other asset, digital or otherwise.”
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Why It’s Important: Ski Mask Dog coin rallied in December after Collins first purchase was disclosed.
The coin hit an all-time high of $0.3639 on Dec. 5 after the Congressman’s first purchase disclosure. The latest trade disclosure shows that Collins also bought more Ski Mask Dog coin on Dec. 3 ahead of the all-time highs.
Collins, who won re-election in the 2024 election, has previously disclosed buying and selling cryptocurrencies like Ethereum ETH/USD, Aerodrome AERO/USD, Velodrome VELO/USD and The Graph GRT/USD.
Collins’ purchases of Ethereum have been larger in recent disclosures compared to the meme coin he recently bought. The congressman has also disclosed selling some of the cryptocurrencies in the past, which could make the recent meme coin buy one to watch in case he later shows he sold it after the recent gains.
Calls to ban members of Congress from buying stocks and options have grown, with President Joe Biden recently endorsing a ban on Congress trading.
When it comes to members of Congress buying and selling cryptocurrencies, there is less support and it is less mentioned in potential legislation.
“Nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they’re in the Congress,” Biden said, failing to mention cryptocurrency.
Members of Congress are currently allowed to buy and sell stocks, options, cryptocurrency and make other investments as long as they are disclosed in 45 days.
Collins’ trade, which happened nearly 30 days ago and came as his past trade in the same coin may have led to the price soaring could spark interest in putting the same ban on cryptocurrency. With pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump taking office later this month, more members of Congress could be looking to add cryptocurrency to their investment portfolios.
Ski Mask Dog, which began trading in 2024, is up 6% in the past day.
The meme cryptocurrency currently trades at $0.2246 at the time of writing Thursday, versus a one-month range of $0.1472 to $0.3639.
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Photo: SMRM1977 via Shutterstock
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