Senator Cynthia Lummis, known as an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, plans to introduce legislation for a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” without affecting the federal budget deficit.
Bitcoin Purchases Could Solve US Debt Crisis, Says Lummis
Lummis’ proposal aims to finance the purchase of 1 million Bitcoins (about 5% of the token’s total supply) by selling some of the Fed’s gold holdings.
Lummis estimates that building that stockpile would cost around $90 billion at current BTC prices, but acknowledges that market backlash to such a large purchase could drive up the cost. “We already have the financial assets in the form of gold certificates to convert to Bitcoin,” Lummis told Bloomberg, adding that the impact on the U.S. balance sheet would be “fairly neutral.”
The senator’s proposal would significantly expand Trump’s vision for a strategic Bitcoin reserve, which currently only includes 200,000 Bitcoins held by the government after assets are seized. Under Lummis’ plan, the U.S. would hold Bitcoin for at least 20 years in the hope that the expected increase in its value could help reduce the national debt over time.
While the proposal highlights the growing interest of the U.S. government in cryptocurrencies, skepticism persists. Polymarket’s market forecasts suggest that President-elect Trump has only a 31% chance of actually creating a Bitcoin reserve, amid concerns about Bitcoin’s volatility and the need for broader congressional consensus. Jennifer J. Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, expressed skepticism: “The bill is asking senators and members of Congress who don’t understand crypto very well to take a much bigger leap of faith in its long-term viability.”
*This is not investment advice.