Crypto News: Lummis Retires, But Another Pro-Crypto Lawmaker is Quietly Moving to Occupy the Seat

Key Insights:

• As per latest crypto news, Senator Cynthia Lummis announced on December 19 that she would not seek re-election in 2026.
• Representative Harriet Hageman is positioned to run for a seat with an announcement expected next week.
• Hageman voted yes on the FIT21 and CLARITY Acts, and co-sponsored the BITCOIN Act and Anti-CBDC legislation.

Senator Cynthia Lummis shook crypto news on December 19, by announcing that she would not seek re-election to the US Senate in 2026, but a candidate is quietly positioning herself to keep the count of pro-crypto lawmakers in Congress intact.

Lummis’ retirement ends a term during which she established herself as one of the chamber’s most vocal advocates for Bitcoin and digital asset legislation.

The Wyoming Republican, who earned the nickname “Crypto Queen” for her work on cryptocurrency policy, cited exhaustion from the fall legislative session and stated she did not have another six years of energy for Senate service.

According to reports, Representative Harriet Hageman, Wyoming’s sole House member, positioned herself as the most likely successor through statements from her adviser.

Hageman’s adviser, Tim Murtaugh, told reporters that she would “have an announcement next week” when asked about her Senate plans.

Additionally, Politico reported that Hageman was actively considering a run for Lummis’ seat and could announce her decision in the coming weeks.

Crypto News on Lummis Legacy: BITCOIN Act and GENIUS Framework

Lummis built her legislative record around digital asset market structure bills and Bitcoin adoption proposals, most notably the BITCOIN Act of 2025, which proposed establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the US government.

She co-sponsored the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and championed the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework that passed into law in 2025, providing federal regulatory clarity for dollar-pegged stablecoins.

The 71-year-old senator served as chair of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, where she pushed for legislation distinguishing between securities and commodities in digital asset classification and advocated for clearer tax treatment of cryptocurrency transactions.

Her retirement statement referenced her intention to work with President Trump to bring important legislation to his desk in 2026 while maintaining Republican Senate control. However, she acknowledged feeling like “a sprinter in a marathon” during recent, exhausting session weeks.

Lummis first entered the Senate in 2021 after previous service in the US House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017, where she co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, and earlier roles as Wyoming state treasurer from 1999 to 2015 and as a Wyoming state representative.

Hageman’s Pro-Crypto Voting Record Mirrors Lummis Approach

Hageman’s legislative record placed her firmly in what Stand With Crypto’s scorecard classified as the “very pro-crypto” category. Her voting patterns aligned closely with industry priorities on market structure, stablecoin regulation, and opposition to central bank digital currencies.

She voted yes on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21, H.R. 4763), which the crypto industry treated as landmark federal market structure legislation.

Additionally, Hageman supported the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act, H.R. 3633), which sought to establish when tokens qualified as “digital commodities” rather than securities.

The Wyoming representative co-sponsored the BITCOIN Act of 2025 (H.R. 2032) and supported the GENIUS Act’s stablecoin framework, which Lummis helped advance through the Senate.

Hageman in Crypto News Focus, Here’s Why

At a 2025 Wyoming town hall, Hageman described the GENIUS Act as “the first major crypto legislation” and argued that US leadership in stablecoins would increase demand for Treasury securities, framing dollar-pegged stablecoins as beneficial to American financial infrastructure.

Hageman’s most vocal positions centered on opposition to central bank digital currency (CBDC). She co-sponsored Representative Tom Emmer’s Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act and celebrated the House’s passage of the legislation, warning that a Federal Reserve digital dollar could be “weaponized” to track or censor private transactions.

This positioned her in the “pro-crypto, anti-CBDC” wing of the Republican Party, supporting private and decentralized digital assets while opposing government-run digital currency infrastructure.

Hageman praised Lummis in a statement as approaching her job with “the toughness of a rancher and the precision of a lawyer.” She also noted that, even as she pursued policies in modern finance, Lummis “never lost sight of her Wyoming roots” and remained an advocate for farmers, energy producers, and landowners.

The transition from Lummis to a potential Hageman Senate candidacy suggested continuity rather than disruption in pro-cryptocurrency legislation from Wyoming’s delegation.

Both lawmakers share similar positions on crypto adoption, stablecoin regulation, opposition to CBDCs, and support for market structure bills that clarify regulatory boundaries between securities and commodities.