Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced a new bill that aims to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve of at least 1 million BTC (5% of the total supply) in the United States.
Lammis announced the new bill on July 27 at the Bitcoin 2024 conference following a keynote speech by former President Donald J. Trump, who vowed to make the United States a Bitcoin “superpower” and never sell off the 210,000 BTC the government already holds.
The leading cryptocurrency responded positively to the announcement, recovering most of its daily losses and trading at $68,750 at the time of writing, according to data from CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin Reserve Bill
During his speech, Lammis detailed his plans to create a network of secure vaults and a purchasing program aimed at transparently managing the federal government's bitcoin holdings.
The effort will begin with the transfer of 210,000 Bitcoin currently held by the U.S. government to a Treasury Department-controlled reserve that will accumulate 1 million BTC over five years, representing 5% of the global supply.
Under the bill, Bitcoin reserves would be held for at least 20 years and used only to reduce the nation's debt, a strategic move Lummis suggested could significantly reduce the nation's debt by 2045.
MicroStrategy Chairman Michael Saylor detailed how the United States could eliminate its debt by adopting a “Bitcoin Maxi” strategy at an event on July 26. Saylor predicted that by applying the most aggressive investment strategy to get to zero debt, the U.S. could amass $30 trillion in Bitcoin by 2045.
Saylor believes that the first country to issue fiat currency and start accumulating Bitcoin will most likely “win” and become the world's next superpower.
Federal Reserve Excess Reserves
Lammis said the bill would not require further funding from taxpayers because the government already has the funds necessary to implement a Bitcoin reserve. He proposed converting excess reserves of the 12 Federal Reserve banks into Bitcoin over the next five years.
Lammis argued that holding Bitcoin, an asset that has historically increased in value, could be a more effective financial strategy than holding assets that are designed to decrease in value over time.
The proposed bill marks a significant step towards integrating digital assets into national policy, potentially positioning the United States as a leader in the global financial world.
At time of writing 12:36 AM, July 28, 2024 (UTC)Bitcoin ranks first by market capitalization and its price is rising 0.4% As of the last 24 hours, Bitcoin's market cap is $1.34 trillion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $34.46 billion. Learn more about Bitcoin ›
At time of writing 12:36 AM, July 28, 2024 (UTC)the entire cryptocurrency market is valued at $2.42 trillion with a 24-hour trading volume of $71.96 billion. Bitcoin dominance is currently at 55.47%. Learn more about the cryptocurrency market ›
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