Though Congressional stock trading has been pervasive for decades to the point that the STOCKS Act was implemented to prevent politicians from investing based on information they receive thanks to their official roles, 2024 brought a new development to the trend: cryptocurrency trading.
By press time on January 3, 2025, the most interesting and suspicious example came in the form of a series of meme coin purchases executed by Representative Mike Collins, Georgia’s 10th congressional district.
Since December 1, 2024, Collins has bought up to $45,000 of a token called Ski Mask Dog (SKI), arguably helping the minor digital asset skyrocket in value.
Mike Collins’ highly suspicious meme coin trades
Specifically, the first SKI purchase was executed on December 1 at an approximate price of $0.092, the second – on December 2 – at about $0.11, and the most recent known buy – dated December 3 – was also near $0.11.
At press time, just one month later, Ski Mask Dog was changing hands at $0.2491, meaning the Representative made up to $58,000 as his original investment – worth up to $45,000 – could have appreciated to about $108,000.
The final SKI batch is particularly suspicious as, unlike the first two trades that were filed by December 2, it remained undisclosed until New Year’s Day, raising the question of why there was such a long waiting period and of how many additional trades the politician made.
Furthermore, the entire trade demonstrates the possibility that Congressional trading has become a tool of price manipulation – either intentional or accidental.
The fact that SKI rallied from about $0.09 before the initial purchase was disclosed to a short-lived peak above $0.35 just days later, and by the fact the meme coin is up more than 20% in the last 24 hours – shortly after the January 1 filing was made – lends additional credence to the notion.
Is Congressional trading destabilizing the markets?
The reputation many Congresspeople have as savvy traders created a phenomenon in which many regular investors seek to mimic their strategies, generating substantial buying pressure as soon as the filings are made public.
A similar trend is seen with some other public figures, such as Elon Musk as his statements, X posts, and other actions are known to cause significant market shifts.
A meme coin called KEKIUS MAXIMUS (KEKIUS) exploded in value around the New Year after the South African-Canadian-American billionaire changed his name and profile picture on social media to Kekius Maximus, enabling at least one trader to turn a $66 investment into more than $3 million in profit.
Why Mike Collins might be the most prolific crypto trader in Congress
Whatever the ultimate success – or potential continued trading activity – of Representative Mike Collins with his involvement with Ski Mask Dog ends up being, there is little doubt that the Gentleman from Georgia is turning into the most prolific digital assets investor in Congress.
Since late December 2023, Collins purchased nearly $400,000 worth of various cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Aerodrome (AERO), The Graph (GRT), Velodrome (VELO), and Ski Mask Dog, and, based on his known digital asset activity, holds the majority of the coin and tokens he has acquired.
