Why Are Bitcoin Supporters Giving Themselves Laser Eyes? Wyoming Senator Joins Trend

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are an exciting—albeit confusing—new territory for many investors. Bitcoin's popularity is made all the more confusing by a new trend in which people who seem to support and favor the crypto market have been placing red laser eyes over their profile pictures.

One of the people who appears to have caught many people's attention by adding glowing red over her eyes was Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis. The Republican's profile photo seems relatively normal save for the red laser eyes seemingly pasted over her own. A Daily Beast reporter tweeted that a Lummis staffer said that it was "a cryptocurrency thing," but did not expand on what exactly it meant.

The 66-year-old senator doesn't appear to have explained why she changed her profile photo, but has tweeted that she's been learning a lot about internet culture recently, responding to people who had "dunked on," or made fun of, (a term she implies that she'd learned recently) her by saying that they were "just helping to spread the word." She also responded to someone who noted that her lasers were crooked and offered to give her a fresh set of beams.

Lummis' office explained the decision in a statement to the Washington Examiner as a show of support for digital finance. "Sen. Lummis is a big supporter of digital assets and financial innovation, and the laser eyes are showing that support," the statement said.

According to cryptocurrency news site The Block, Lummis has been an advocate for bitcoin and is assigned to the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee.

The origin of the meme is unclear, but it seems like it's part of a campaign to raise bitcoin's worth to a $100,000 valuation, according to a comment in the bitcoin subreddit. Tweets with both #Bitcoin and #LaserRayUntil100k also seem to support this reasoning.

Among Twitter users who support bitcoin, there have been a few memes made about the laser eyes, celebrating their excitement and hope to reach $100,000, but also poking fun at the meme's odd nature.

Digital asset bank Avanti founder and CEO Caitlin Long wrote to Newsweek that she wasn't sure how the laser eyes meme started, but it "spread like wildfire among bitcoiners." She also theorized that social networking site Clubhouse may have played a role.

Lummis isn't the only political figure to embrace the laser eyes. Former White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci also changed his profile photo to show himself with laser eyes.

Newsweek reached out to Lummis' press secretary for comment.