Upon her swearing-in last year, Lummis became the first crypto owner in the Senate’s history.

A few other senators, like Patrick J. Toomey and now Ted Cruz, have also bought crypto. Some candidates are even running on pro-crypto platforms.

Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez gave the opening speech at the two-day, $1,499-a-ticket conference, but the highlight was none other than Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, a flea market for illegal drugs and other contraband on the dark web. Ulbricht, perhaps better known by his online alias “the Dread Pirate Robert,” was sentenced to life in prison for his role facilitating drug deals online using Bitcoin.

When asked about how it looked to share a billing with a convicted criminal, Lummis avoided the question, arguing instead that Bitcoin is no worse than plain old cash. “It’s easier to hide a crime committed in U.S. dollars than it is to hide a crime committed in Bitcoin,” she said.

Cryptocurrencies can be chimeric assets, causing jurisdictional headaches for regulators and developers alike. A token first sold to fund the development of a new product can look an awful lot like a stock or bond regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but it could then start being used more like money, or at least store credit. Others resemble commodities overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Wyoming’s laws are so good for crypto, said fellow lawmaker and convert Davidson, he worries, perhaps half-jokingly, that Lummis might not want to fully level the playing field with her bill. “Wyoming is ahead of every other state,” said the Ohio Republican, who is arguably crypto’s biggest fan in the House.

About 50 crypto firms have relocated to the state to take advantage of the crypto laws there. But many of those companies have just incorporated there, not moved their operations or located their headquarters there, she said.

The U.S. dollar is the cleanest shirt in the dirty laundry. We’re $30 trillion in debt. So, to say that our currency is squeaky clean is incorrect, but it’s the cleanest, most reliable, most dependable currency that’s issued by any country on earth.”

I asked her if she agreed, minus the negative spin, that Bitcoin is better understood as a financial asset to bet on rather than a useful currency.

“Exactly,” she said. “I see them as a long-term asset. I see them as hard money, much the way gold is hard money.”