US Senator Ted Cruz pushes for crypto in Congress... using snacks

Texan Republican Senator Ted Cruz is pushing the United States Congress to adopt cryptocurrency within its halls using an incentive both sides might agree on — food.

Cruz introduced a concurrent resolution dated Jan. 25 that would only allow vending machine and food service contractors that accept crypto as a payment option within the U.S. Capitol.

If adopted, the Architect of the Capitol, the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives would be required to find the crypto-accepting food and vending firms.

At the time of writing the text of the resolution was not publicly available on the Congress website. It’s unknown the potential cost of implementing the measure, or if the resolution would require contractors to take payment in certain cryptocurrencies.

Cointelegraph contacted Cruz’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Cruz has long been a vocal advocate for cryptocurrencies, especially lauding Bitcoin (BTC) for its decentralization. At roughly this time last year, the Senator bought between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of BTC according to a financial disclosure.

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He is one of only eight known crypto investors in Congress according to the “Bitcoin Politicians” crowdsourced data project.

The list also includes Cynthia Lummis, the Wyoming Senator behind a pro-crypto piece of legislation and Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvanian Senator who recently introduced a stablecoin bill aiming to create a regulatory framework for payments.

Senator Cruz also has signaled his interest to make his home state of Texas an oasis for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying crypto mining could be used to monetize the energy from oil and gas extraction and the activity may be used as an alternate way of storing energy.

The resolution put forward by Cruz will need to be agreed to in both the Senate and the House before it can be adopted.