Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) officially introduced legislation to the U.S. Senate on July 31 seeking to establish a national Bitcoin reserve that will reduce the national debt of the United States by purchasing 1 million (BTC) over the course of five years.
Lummis’ Bill For National Bitcoin Reserve
Sen. Lummis, the Senate’s most reliable advocate for crypto policy, formally laid out the pathway for the United States government to start a reserve fund for the scarce decentralized crypto asset.
The bill is called the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2024, and aims to strengthen “the position of the U.S. dollar in the global financial system,” according to the bill.
The wait is over. This is our Louisiana Purchase moment. Read the text for my BITCOIN Act below https://t.co/mSYJVwn1wI
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) July 31, 2024
If passed, the legislation would create a “decentralized network of secure Bitcoin vaults” under the management of the U.S. Treasury. The bill also requires lawmakers to pass stringent cybersecurity measures to ensure bad actors don’t steal the Bitcoin funds.
Lummis first announced the bill during the blockbuster Bitcoin Conference in Nashville last Saturday. As part of the Bitcoin Act of 2024, the United States would buy 1 million BTC over a period of five years — or nearly 5% of Bitcoin’s total supply — using existing Treasury funds to acquire the BTC in amounts that mirror the US Treasury’s gold reserves.
“Just as gold reserves have historically served as a cornerstone of national financial security, Bitcoin represents a digital-age asset capable of enhancing the financial leadership and security of the U.S. in the 21st-century global economy,” the bill reads.
The strategic BTC reserve aims to boost America’s financial position on the global stage. 1 million Bitcoins are worth around $64 billion at current market prices.
Strategic US Bitcoin Reserve Idea Gains Support
Bitcoin erupted as a big issue in the 2024 Presidential race after former President Donald Trump endorsed the preeminent cryptocurrency during an event at his Mar-a-Lago resort back in May. Trump also agrees that the U.S. should begin building a Bitcoin reserve.
The Republican nominee told attendees at the Bitcoin Conference that his policy if re-elected would be to keep the current government stash “as the core of the strategic national Bitcoin stockpile,” which he believes would “transform that vast wealth into a permanent national asset to benefit all Americans.”
Members of the crypto community have backed the strategic BTC stockpile idea. ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood, for instance, posited: “If they do it in the right way, meaning this is not an instrument of monetary policy at all, but it simply goes on our balance sheet … this could be transformational.”
Michael Saylor, the Chairman of the world’s biggest corporate holder of BTC MicroStrategy, suggested that the U.S. should aim to acquire at least 4 million BTC to boost its Treasury and build its financial strength. Saylor said only one or two nations will enjoy what he described as the crypto’s gargantuan future growth to that extent.
“Bitcoin is not the solution to all our problems,” Saylor opined at the annual Bitcoin event. “It is the solution to half our problems.”
