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July 17, 2025
House intent on passing three bills sought by the private digital currency lobby.
The bills establish financial standards to both help the crypto industry get the federal regulator it prefers, while also setting legitimacy-enhancing terms for backing “stablecoin,” a kind of crypto backed by predictable assets like cash reserves.
Crypto has done well in the “D.C. swamp.” President Donald Trump has his own meme coin, a type of highly speculative currency sometimes with a celebrity hook, in this case Trump, to drive public interest. Trump’s crypto assets are valued at more than $7 billion, The New York Times recently reported.
Crypto’s political clout has surged in recent years. Crypto industry super PACs that didn’t exist four years ago pumped money into the federal elections in 2024. That included $509,959 spent by the $60 million super PAC “Defend American Jobs” in support of now-Montana U.S. Rep. Troy Downing.
Crypto assets have turned up on financial disclosure forms for Montana’s federal delegation for about four years.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, disclosed having between $100,001 and $250,000 in a bitcoin investment fund as part of his 2023 candidate income disclosure forms, the most recent documentation available. In May, Sheehy was granted an extension by the Senate Ethics Committee for filing his 2024 report, which isn’t due until Aug. 13.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, reported cryptocurrency holdings from 2021 through 2023. The years coincide with crypto’s rise in influence at a time when Daines served on the Senate Banking Committee. His annual disclosure report for 2024 shows no crypto holdings. In 2021 Daines had crypto holdings valued between $4,000 and $60,000. By 2023, the senator was selling seven different crypto investments estimated to be worth as much as $105,000.
Former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, who also served on the Senate Banking Committee, said cryptocurrencies “didn’t pass the smell test,” and that Congress passing regulations for crypto would give it a false sense of legitimacy in the eyes of consumers. There was no cryptocurrency in Tester’s financials over several years of disclosures. Tester’s remarks, made on “Meet The Press” in December 2022, alarmed the crypto industry.
Both Downing and western Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke received extensions for filing their 2024 annual reports.
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL commander, was director of a crypto investment firm, Artillery One, in 2019 after resigning as President Trump’s Interior secretary.
—Tom Lutey
Is Zinn In?
William W. Mercer, a Billings attorney and state legislator, was officially nominated July 15 by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. district judge in the Montana district. The judge Mercer is nominated to replace is Dana L. Christensen, an Obama-nominated judge who in 2022 said he would assume senior status and stop regularly hearing cases as soon as a replacement was appointed.
Mercer’s seat in the Montana state House of Representatives will have to be filled, a process that in this case involves the Yellowstone County Republicans selecting three nominees for the Yellowstone County Commission to choose from.
In May, Stacy Zinn, a retired federal drug enforcement agent, registered her campaign for Mercer’s House District 52. Zinn was a Republican primary candidate for Montana’s eastern U.S. House district in 2024, where she finished third in a pool of eight. She was elected vice chair of the Montana Republican Party in June.
—Tom Lutey
Big shoes (and a big hat) to fill.
Yellowstone County is trying to replace Commissioner John Ostlund, who died in a plane crash June 19. Because Ostlund was a Republican, nominations to replace the commissioner come from the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee.
The finalists selected July 14 to replace Ostlund include former Public Service Commissioner Kirk Bushman, local business owner Charles Loveridge, and Chris White, an Albertsons manager.
In Jefferson County, commissioners selected three finalists to replace state Rep. Marta Bertoglio in House District 75. A Republican, Bertoglio was recently selected by Gov. Greg Gianforte to direct the Department of Commerce.
The finalists are Terry Churchill, Mark Reinschmidt and Kirk Wagoner. State law allows the party of the exiting legislator to nominate up to three people for the job. The interim appointee will serve until the end of 2026. Assistant to the commission, Helen Auch, said a final choice is scheduled for July 22.
—Tom Lutey
