Mike Collins backed stock trading ban while betting big on crypto

Georgia Rep. Mike Collins endorsed a ban on congressional stock trading while he was actively buying and selling cryptocurrency.

When a voter confronted Collins about this during an April meet-and-greet, he tried to claim that his activities were not corrupt because cryptocurrencies were immune from insider trading.

“I don’t know how you would manipulate crypto,” Collins said. “It’d be like trying to manipulate the dollar, the peso or something. But the stock trading, I don’t know how to do it … All I want to know is when people stop doing it. They’re getting insider information.”

Collins’ characterization is not accurate. While it’s true that cryptocurrencies are sold on digital exchanges rather than the traditional stock market, individuals can still use clandestine information to maximize their profits. Because cryptocurrencies are not securities, these cases are often prosecuted as wire or commodities fraud, as opposed to traditional insider trading.

In 2021, the House Ethics Committee fined North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorne $14,000 for promoting a cryptocurrency that he had a sizable stake in.

Many of the proposed bans on congressional stock trading, including ones that Collins has endorsed, would apply to cryptocurrencies as well.

Last month, Collins secured the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Georgia. His primary opponent, former football coach Derek Dooley, repeatedly attacked him over his cryptocurrency holdings.

“Collins treats Congress like his own crypto casino,” Dooley’s campaign wrote on X. “Georgians deserve leaders focused on service, not self-enrichment.”

This line of attack seems likely to continue into the general election. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has made cracking down on political corruption and self-enrichment a major focus of his reelection campaign.

At the same time, President Donald Trump has come under fire for raking in $1.4 billion from his family’s cryptocurrency business. Trump has endorsed Collins’ campaign.

A Fox News poll from earlier this month showed Ossoff leading Collins among likely voters by 13 points.