US Senator Cynthia Lummis, who has arguably been the crypto sector’s closest friend in Congress, will not seek another term, she said in a statement on Friday.
The first-term lawmaker will step down after her six-year term ends in January 2027, leaving a Republican seat vacant in deep-red Wyoming but also removing a key ally for the digital asset industry. Lummis has been the inaugural chair of the first subcommittee dedicated to crypto matters at the US Banking Committee, where she has pushed crypto-friendly legislation as a top priority.
Even now, he is one of the lead negotiators for the crypto market structure bill, which will bring members back to the bargaining table after the holidays. She will still be there in the final push for the industry’s top legislative goal in 2026.
“Deciding not to run for re-election represents a change of heart for me, but in the weeks leading up to this fall’s difficult, exhausting session, I have accepted that I do not have six more years,” Loomis said in the statement. He compared himself to a runner who is running a marathon. “The energy required does not match,” she said.
Repeatedly, Loomis has introduced bills to ease the path to regulatory acceptance and government adoption of crypto. These include broader market structure efforts, crypto tax proposals, and legislation to establish government bitcoin reserves.
Although the congressional midterm elections in 2026 will be a high-stakes political battleground with the party’s majority in both houses at stake, the last time a Democrat held a Senate seat in Wyoming was in the 1970s. In Loomis’s 2020 campaign, he received approximately 73% of the vote.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to earn President Trump’s endorsement and work side by side with him to fight for the people of Wyoming,” Loomis said in a statement. She said she would “put all of her energy into getting critical legislation to his desk in 2026 and maintaining Republican control of the U.S. Senate.”
Crypto advocates are already mourning his departure. Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, called him “the leading champion for digital assets in Washington.”
“His deep insight and conviction have helped elevate digital asset policy and strengthen American innovation and leadership,” Kim said in a statement Friday.
Read More: Lummis, key US senator on crypto bill, in talks at tipping points with White House
UPDATE (December 19, 2025, 22:04 UTC): Adds comment from CCI CEO.