Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), who sits on a congressional subcommittee overseeing the crypto market, voted for crypto-friendly bills this summer while secretly holding tens of thousands of dollars in stock tied to Bitcoin’s price, in violation of federal disclosure laws.
On Monday this week, Thanedar finally disclosed that he had bought between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of MicroStrategy shares in July 2024, more than 400 days late. The STOCK Act requires members of Congress to report trades within 45 days to ensure transparency and expose potential insider trading. Thanedar’s late filing meant his financial bet on the Bitcoin treasury company remained hidden through months of legislative activity directly affecting digital assets. Thanedar’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
MicroStrategy, a Virginia-based software company recently renamed Strategy, has become the largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, with a stock value that moves in alignment with the cryptocurrency’s price, but with even more volatility. By buying MSTR stock, Thanedar was essentially making a leveraged wager on Bitcoin’s rise, after having reported in January 2024 that he had sold off all of his holdings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin holdings. The price of Strategy shares has risen by about 180 percent since Thanedar bought them.
