🚨🚨 Federal Reserve Chairman: We do not own Bitcoin and will not seek legal changes to own it
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed during a press conference on December 19 that the law prohibits the central bank from owning bitcoin, and that the Fed does not plan to seek any legislative changes to change that status. “The law specifies what assets we can own, and bitcoin is not one of them,” Powell explained. “That’s up to Congress, and we’re not looking to change the law.”
Powell’s comments came amid a notable decline in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin down 5.9% to $100,605, after hitting a high of $108,000 on December 18. Other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, XRP and Solana, also saw losses ranging from 4% to 11%, bringing the total cryptocurrency market cap down to $3.67 trillion in 24 hours.
In another context, President-elect Donald Trump has reiterated his support for Bitcoin as a strategic asset in his recent statements. Trump had proposed the concept of a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” during his election campaign, stressing the importance of the United States’ leadership in the field of cryptocurrencies. Trump said on December 12: “We are going to strengthen our position in the field of cryptocurrencies to compete with China and other countries.”
It is worth noting that the US government already owns 212,847 Bitcoins, worth $22.3 billion, obtained through legal seizures. However, details of Trump’s plan to include these assets in a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” or purchase additional quantities remain unclear. Speculation has been growing that an executive order recognizing Bitcoin as an official reserve asset could be issued after Trump takes office in January 2025.$BTC
