Discussion of Bitcoin Reserves Initially Driven Prices Higher
At the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, former U.S. President Donald Trump said that if he returns to the White House, his administration will not sell any Bitcoin currently held by the U.S. government or acquired in the future, effectively creating a "strategic national Bitcoin reserve."
In a memo to clients on Monday, Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra and Sanskar Chindalia noted that the United States will lead the world in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
The United States will become a "Bitcoin mining superpower"; SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a frequent critic of the industry, may be replaced by a "crypto-friendly" new chairman; the United States will not create a central bank digital currency (CBDC), ensuring clear self-custody rights and non-censorship of crypto transactions; the United States will launch a stablecoin framework to promote the digital dollar as a global standard and enable cross-border payments; the United States will not sell its seized assets of approximately 213,246 Bitcoins (equivalent to nearly $15 billion), but will use them as the basis for a "national strategic Bitcoin reserve."
Bitcoin and crypto assets held by the U.S. government are often seized as part of enforcement actions.
In addition, Republican Senator Cynthia Loomis of Wyoming announced a bill that would further increase this strategic reserve, planning to purchase 5% of the total supply of Bitcoin over a set number of years.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also spoke out about a similar plan at the Bitcoin 2024 conference. He said that if elected, he would transfer more than 200,000 Bitcoins held by the U.S. government to the Treasury Department as a "strategic asset" by executive order and instruct the Treasury Department to purchase 550 Bitcoins per day until the reserve grows to 4 million Bitcoins.
Trump also said that he would replace Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gensler has been heavily criticized for the SEC's enforcement actions against the crypto industry.
