On July 31, 202 Senator Cynthia Lummis officially introduced the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve bill that would direct the United States government to start a reserve fund for the scarce decentralized asset.
More specifically, the bill would establish a "decentralized network of secure Bitcoin vaults" under the control of the United States Treasury. The bill also directs lawmakers and bureaucrats to enact strict cybersecurity parameters and other physical security measures to ensure that Bitcoin (BTC) funds are not stolen.
The bill also laid out a goal of accumulating 1 million Bitcoin over time, or roughly 5% of Bitcoin's total supply, using existing US Treasury funds to acquire the Bitcoin in amounts that mirror the US Treasury's gold allocation. In conjunction with the introduction of the bill, the Wyoming senator also released a statement about the historic proposal:
“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 by creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve."
Lummis' bill also reaffirmed the right to self-custody in the United States. It seeks to protect this right, which has come under fire from certain US lawmakers.
Related: RFK Jr: Only Bitcoin can guarantee US dollar’s reserve currency status
Political promises with no bite?
Senator Lummis' ambitious plan to acquire 5% of Bitcoin's total supply has been hinted at and echoed by politicians like RFK Jr. and the Republican Party's 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump.
However, shortly after former President Trump promised not to sell any of the United States' Bitcoin holdings, the government transferred 29,800 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $2 billion, to an unmarked wallet address, prompting Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz to characterize the move as "tone deaf."
Inflation and the dollar crisis
Still, others have hope that the current inflationary woes plaguing the US dollar through the government's $35 trillion national debt will drive the case for a return to hard assets like Bitcoin.
Matt Bell, the CEO of Turbofish, believes this is the case and, in a recent statement to Cointelegraph, argued that the sustainability of fiat currencies is causing growing concerns among the global population.
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