Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Bitcoin supporter, said Tuesday that she would like U. S. citizens to diversify their retirement accounts through cryptocurrency investments.
Lummis, the first Wyoming woman to be elected to the Senate, said she supports other people who make an investment in the cryptocurrencies of her choice, if they are legally permitted.
“I would like cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, to be a component of a diversified asset allocation used in the pension budget and other opportunities for other people to save for the future,” the Republican senator said at CNBC’s monetary advisory summit on Tuesday.
The Internal Revenue Service considers bitcoin to be an asset rather than a currency, for tax purposes, meaning that any transaction involving virtual currencies will get the same remedy as selling stocks and other intangibles.
But embedding cryptocurrencies in retirement portfolios remains a niche practice, as they cannot be included in individual pension accounts. Investors deserve to put in place a special type of ERI that is more actively controlled through the holder. from the account rather than a third-party service. .
Still, the plan’s sponsors will need to adopt cryptocurrencies in their investment line, Aaron Potticchen, senior vice president of Alliant Retirement Consulting, told CNBC.
Lummis, who bought his first bitcoin in 2013 for $330, revealed that he owns five bitcoins, with about $170,000 existing.
Despite the senator’s positive attitude to the virtual asset, he said, “I don’t need everyone to put all their money in bitcoin, just like I don’t need everyone to put it in dollars and put it under a mattress. I like diversification. “
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