The latest presidential election was undoubtedly about reestablishing hope in our economy. An economy battered by inflation and many uncertainties needs safeguarding and revitalization from the government and its policymakers.
But how would the state safeguard its economy if its reserves become weak? There is hardly any doubt that inflation, over the past couple of years, has made significant dents in the purchasing power of the assets held in state funds, including the state retirement funds and those managed by the state treasurer.
The state can not absolve itself of the duty to protect its tax-paying residents by saying that it does not directly control the money supply or create policies that encourage or curb inflation. It has a moral obligation to safeguard its citizens.
What does it do then? Well, one asset has consistently delivered value over the past 16 years. With a price hovering around US$90K and a market cap of over US$1.5 trillion, Bitcoin is uniquely positioned as an asset, much different from paper money, that can effectively and sustainably hedge against inflation.
To build the much-required momentum around this has emerged a grassroots movement: the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve or SBR!
Bitcoin to Help National Economy Be Robust Again
The ideological call to build a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve came in July-end 2024 from the US senator for Wyoming, Cynthia Lummis. Lummis put forward a proposal to supercharge the U.S. dollar and pay down the national debt by establishing the reserve.
The proposal was followed by the introduction of a bill titled BITCOIN Act, an acronym for Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act. Lummis, in her proposal, drew attention to the transformative potential of Bitcoin and urged the United States to become the “first developed nation to use Bitcoin as a savings technology (that) secures our position as a global leader in financial innovation.”
She was further quoted saying, “This is our Louisiana Purchase moment that will help us reach the next financial frontier.”
Lummis proposing to add to the US government’s current 200,000 Bitcoin holdings until it reaches one million BTC over the course of five years, according to MicroStrategy’s chairman Michael Saylor, would be the greatest deal of the 21st century.
Saylor believes, “Bitcoin is manifest destiny for the United States.” In fact, his own company currently boasts the world’s largest Bitcoin Treasury worth about $30 billion, which surpasses the cash holdings of giants like Nike and IBM.
The discussions surrounding creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve aren’t just one-offs, either. This is a new wave that has already taken over El Salvador and Bhutan and is now slowly spreading throughout the US.
For instance, Pennsylvania recently introduced a new bill, the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act, proposing to allow the treasury to hold BTC on its balance sheet. The legislature will further authorize pension funds to include BTC as a store of value. This flexibility in investment strategy will allow both state treasury and pension funds to adapt to the changing economic conditions and take advantage of emerging opportunities, offering better returns and protection against inflation.
Lobbyist Dennis Porter, CEO of Satoshi Action Fund, which helped draft the bill, shared on social media that within hours of ‘open-sourcing’ the legislation, “multiple lawmakers and a presidential candidate endorsed the policy and vowed to pass it into law.”
In a separate post, he said that multiple states are expected to introduce such legislation next year, and several state lawmakers have reached out regarding it.
Amidst this growing focus on making Bitcoin a strategy reserve asset to secure the nation’s future, an Ethereum-based meme coin, $SBR, has emerged with a total supply of more than 21 million. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the SBR bill and build solid momentum around it.
The ground-level support and enthusiasm for the cause are undeniable, reflecting the trust people have in Bitcoin as a store of value and something that can protect people from the risks of inflation and related economic uncertainties.
Bitcoin has been growing like never before, with the growth visible all around—from publicly traded Bitcoin ETFs to Bitcoin’s growing dominance in DeFi. Keeping this in mind, the SBR movement seeks to harness the asset’s price for the greater good of society.
More specifically, the bill proposes to establish a decentralized network of secure Bitcoin vaults operated by the United States Department of Treasury, with statutory requirements to ensure the highest level of physical and cybersecurity for the nation’s Bitcoin holdings. It also outlines a 1-million-unit Bitcoin purchase program over a set period, aiming to acquire approximately 5% of the total Bitcoin supply—mirroring the size and scope of gold reserves held by the United States.
If the vision of SBR reaches fruition, it will be one of the most fiscally responsible decisions of US policymakers in the recent past.
Image by Monoar Rahman Rony from Pixabay