Hard to tell what was in the mind of the original installer, but I know of no reason for that configuration. Make sure you clean off all that paint, and replace the shutoff with a ball type shutoff. Since this is for the toilet, there actually should be a shutoff at the toilet, again, 1/4 turn ball valve.
U shaped copper configuration
First time posting - Doing a toilet replacment and was considering replacing the old straight chrome water line that comes up through the floor that then connects with a flex line to the toilet. I traced back to the copper in the basement and saw the shut off valve, but also a U shaped copper configuration. Does this serve a purpose? I was considering re-piping that area but was just going to use a straight 90 from the line to head up through the floor to the bathroom. Picture attached if I did this right.
