Crypto’s closest ally in Congress, Sen. Lummis, is retiring next year

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who has arguably been the closest friend to the crypto sector in Congress, won’t seek another term, she said in a statement on Friday.

The first-term lawmaker will call it quits after her six-year term ends in January 2027, leaving a Republican seat open in extremely red Wyoming, but also removing a major ally for the digital assets industry. Lummis has been the inaugural chair of the first subcommittee dedicated to crypto matters at the U.S. Banking Committee, where she’s pushed crypto-friendly legislation as a top priority.

Even now, she’s among the leading negotiators for the crypto market structure bill, which will draw members back to the bargaining table after the holiday break. She’ll still be there in what may be a final push for the industry’s top legislative goal in 2026.

“Deciding not to run for re-election does represent a change of heart for me, but in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me,” Lummis said in the statement, released as the chamber abandoned Washington for the break. She equated herself with a sprinter who has been running in a marathon. “The energy required doesn’t match up,” she said.

Over and over, Lummis has introduced bills meant to ease a path toward regulatory acceptance and the government embrace of crypto. Those have included broad market structure efforts, crypto tax proposals and the legislation to establish the government’s bitcoin stockpile.

Though the congressional midterm elections in 2026 will be a high-stakes political battlefield in which the party majorities in both chambers will be on the line, the last time a Democrat held a Senate seat in Wyoming was in the 1970s. In Lummis’ 2020 campaign, she took almost 73% of the vote.

“I am honored to have earned the support of President Trump and to have the opportunity to work side by side with him to fight for the people of Wyoming,” Lummis said in her statement. She said she’ll be “throwing all my energy into bringing important legislation to his desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican control of the U.S. Senate.”

Crypto advocates are already lamenting her departure. Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, called her a “leading champion for digital assets in Washington.”

“Her deep understanding and conviction have helped elevate digital assets policy and strengthen U.S. innovation and leadership,” Kim said in a statement on Friday.

Read More: Key U.S. Senator on Crypto Bill, Lummis, Negotiating Dicey Points With White House

UPDATE (December 19, 2025, 22:04 UTC): Adds comment from CCI’s CEO.