Washington — Detroit U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar’s updated campaign finance filing shows his reelection campaign holds a cash reserve topping $5 million that he may tap as he faces a trio of Democratic challengers this summer.
Thanedar’s campaign on Sunday amended his finance report covering the first three months of the year, showing the Democratic congressman’s crypto investments suffered a loss of $1.3 million as of the end of the quarter on March 31, with his campaign account reporting just over $5 million cash on hand.
Thanedar’s report initially omitted an updated snapshot of his cryptocurrency holdings — something he said he didn’t realize until he saw the report posted on the Federal Election Commission’s website last week.
Thanedar noted that the cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund has already rebounded since the first quarter ended March 31, with its value standing at $5.4 million on Monday, up from $4.7 million.
“So, in less than a month since that deadline, the value has gone up by $700,000. It’s a very fluctuating, high-risk investment, which I understand and knowingly did. And it’s my own money, so it’s not like I’m taking donor money and playing with it,” Thanedar told The Detroit News on Monday.
“I have been more than open about my crypto holdings. I’ve not moved that asset. This is an asset that I’ve not liquidated, so the paper value of it at the end of the quarter changes. But that’s just the paper value — just like your home value is today’s value.”
The Detroit News first reported on how the millionaire businessman in 2023 took nearly $4 million in cash from his campaign and invested it in a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund — a move that campaign finance experts say is rare and financially risky, though allowed under federal law.
Thanedar’s report filed last week showed he had about $66,700 in receipts last quarter, including $45,000 from individual contributions, meaning he was outraised again by challenger state Rep. Donavan McKinney of Detroit, who reported bringing in $245,840 and had about $458,670 in the bank.
Others who filed to run for Thanedar’s seat by Tuesday’s deadline included Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters and John Goci, both Democrats, as well as Republicans Martell Bivings, Raphiel King and T.P. Nykoriak.
“I’m going to be happy to talk about my record, fighting with Trump, bringing impeachment articles against (Defense) Secretary Hegseth,” Thanedar said.
He said he hasn’t focused on the primary too much yet. He spent two to three weeks this spring collecting about half of the required petition signatures needed to get on the ballot at grocery stores in the district himself, he said.
Thanedar has long said he spends very little time fundraising, preferring instead to personally invest in his campaign so he can focus on his job in Congress.
Investing campaign money is generally legal under federal campaign election regulations, which allow political committees to transfer funds for investment purposes to other accounts. The invested funds must be returned or transferred to the campaign account before they may be used to make campaign expenditures under Federal Election Commission rules.
Thanedar has said he would cash out when he needs the money for his reelection campaign. In the meantime, a benefit of the crypto investment is that he can skip long hours of calling campaign donors to raise money. His campaign reported about $17,000 in fundraising expenses last quarter.
Thanedar represents the 13th Congressional District that covers parts of Detroit, Downriver communities and the Grosse Pointes.
mburke@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Shri Thanedar’s crypto holdings took hit but still millions in reserve
Reporting by Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
