With Donald Trump elected as the 47th president of the United States, the prospect of establishing a national Bitcoin reserve is gaining momentum. Trump has pledged to make BTC a cornerstone of the country’s economic recovery during his upcoming administration, which is set to begin on January 20, the day of his inauguration
‘We Are Going To Build A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve’
Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis has been a vocal advocate for this initiative, introducing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Legislation on July 31.
This legislation follows earlier discussions at the 2024 Bitcoin National Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, where both Trump and Lummis emphasized the importance of BTC for the US economy. Lummis articulated her vision for the legislation, stating:
As families across Wyoming struggle to keep up with soaring inflation rates and our national debt reaches new and unprecedented heights, it is time for us to take bold steps to create a brighter future for generations to come.
The pro-crypto Senator had also described BTC’s potential as “transformative,” asserting that becoming the first developed nation to adopt BTC as a savings technology would solidify the US’s position as a leader in financial innovation worldwide.
In light of Trump’s victory against Kamala Harris, Lummis reiterated her commitment to the idea in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, declaring, “We are going to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve.”
This initiative has garnered enthusiastic support from industry leaders, including Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, who proclaimed:
Let’s be absolutely clear, the anti-Bitcoin movement died last night. The USA will be the most pro-Bitcoin nation in the world. We will have a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. We will enshrine a national law to defend Bitcoin Rights.
US Government Targets One Million Bitcoin
For further context, the proposed legislation aims to create a strategic BTC reserve that would serve as an additional store of value to enhance the US balance sheet. Key components of the plan include:
- Decentralized Bitcoin Vaults: A network of secure BTC vaults managed by the US Treasury Department, with stringent requirements to ensure the highest standards of physical and cybersecurity for the nation’s BTC holdings.
- Bitcoin Purchase Program: A program to acquire one million BTC over a designated period, targeting a total stake of approximately 5% of the total Bitcoin supply, akin to the scale of the nation’s gold reserves.
- Funding Sources: The initiative would be financed by reallocating existing funds within the Federal Reserve System and the Treasury Department.
- Self-Custody Rights: The legislation would affirm the self-custody rights of private BTC holders, ensuring that individual financial freedoms remain intact.
Bipartisan Support Grows
The push for a national BTC reserve is not limited to Republican lawmakers. As previously reported by Bitcoinist, Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, has also endorsed the initiative, advocating for the Federal Reserve to consider Bitcoin as a legitimate reserve asset.
“We want to make sure that we have the openness to having Bitcoin as part of the Federal Reserve,” Khanna stated in a podcast, emphasizing BTC’s potential for appreciation and its role in establishing new financial standards.
However, Khanna’s advocacy extends beyond mere support; he has urged the Democratic National Committee to revise its stance on digital assets, calling for a “crypto reset” that includes pro-digital asset language in the party platform.
At the time of writing, the largest cryptocurrency on the market is trading at $74,740, after hitting a new record high of $75,500 during Wednesday’s trading session.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com