This story was originally published by Dermot Cole, Reporting From Alaska.
Rep. Nick Begich 3 is a bit player, but he is trying to boost himself as a Crypto Bro in Congress, claiming he will have a big announcement Tuesday at a crypto conclave in Washington planned by the Bitcoin Policy Institute.
“It’s time for America to become the first #BITCOIN superpower,” Nicholas the Third wrote on X. “I am working on something Big with Sen Lummis,” referring to Wyoming Republican crypto promoter Cynthia Lummis.
Lummis, who posts pictures of herself with laser eyes, claims to have a plan to “supercharge the U.S. dollar and pay down the national debt by establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.”
The Bitcoin Policy Institute claimed Begich will make “an historic announcement at Bitcoin for America,” an online gabfest with Lummis as the honorary co-host. A crypto promotion site claimed Begich’s “statement has sent ripples across the cryptocurrency market.”
“The trading implications of Congressman Begich’s announcement are profound,” the crypto hype machine concluded.
Don’t believe a word of that.
Begich, who has no seniority and no power, is getting the Bitcoin star treatment because nearly all members of Congress think the crypto craze is a dumb idea and don’t want to risk federal money on it.
That he claims to have an historic announcement, which will probably be the introduction of a Bitcoin bill, is more telling than anything it might contain.
Whoever runs against him in 2026 should take note that his historic announcement has nothing to do with the pressing issues Alaskans care about.
This is the same Begich who said he was “not in a position to approve or deny the cuts” made by Elon Musk in the federal workforce in Alaska. Begich is a big supporter of Musk, owner of the Republican Party.
“The notion that Begich has no information about DOGE’s activities is notable since Begich is a member of the Congressional DOGE Caucus,” the website Popular Information reported.
Meanwhile, Lummis, who says on her X profile that “Lummis rhymes with hummus,” uses the laser eyes image to show her support for Bitcoin.
“There’s a new Bitcoiner on Capitol Hill,” she said March 4 about Nicholas the Third. “So excited that @RepNickBegich will be joining Bitcoin for America on March 11.”
“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” the Wyoming lawmaker said.
Last summer she said that “becoming the first developed nation to use Bitcoin as a savings technology secures our position as a global leader in financial innovation. This is our Louisiana Purchase moment that will help us reach the next financial frontier.”
President Trump signed an order last week to “essentially consolidate all the bitcoin it has seized through criminal and civil forfeitures and hold it as a reserve asset — similar to the way gold and petroleum are stockpiled,” as CNN put it.
“Critics question the wisdom of tying America’s financial future to a purely speculative, highly volatile asset. They argue that the reserve is little more than a scheme to enhance the value of bitcoin, thereby juicing the portfolios of early investors, such as the roughly 30 crypto CEOs who descended on the White House for a meeting with the president on Friday,” CNN said.
The purpose of the meeting Tuesday with Lummis is to “shape America’s Bitcoin strategy.”
During his campaign, Nicholas the Third promoted Bitcoin as better than the U.S. dollar: “In the face of the continued debasement of traditional fiat currencies like the US Dollar, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and metals such as gold and silver serve as an alternative safe haven asset class.”
Your contributions help support independent analysis and political commentary by Alaska reporter and author Dermot Cole. Thank you for reading and for your support. Either click here to use PayPal or send checks to: Dermot Cole, Box 10673, Fairbanks, AK 99710-0673.\
Dermot Cole has worked as a newspaper reporter, columnist and author in Alaska for more than 40 years. Support his work here.
