Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has announced plans to introduce legislation that would direct the U.S. government to collect 1 million Bitcoins, which would be worth more than $68 billion at current prices.
Speaking on the Bitcoin 2024 Conference In Nashville, Lummis said the bill would see the U.S. Treasury Department purchase Bitcoin over a five-year period as a strategic reserve to bolster the dollar. She compared it to the government’s strategic petroleum reserve.
“We know from modeling the numbers and past experience with Bitcoin that it can be an absolute game changer for the mess the United States is in with its debt and deficits,” Lummis said.
The senator said the government… self-preservation Bitcoin across different geographic locations. The assets could only be used to pay off government debt and had to be held for at least 20 years.
Lummis is one of the leading Bitcoin advocates in Congress. She believes that acquiring Bitcoin will help stabilize the value of the dollar and combat inflation. The national debt recently surpassed $35 trillion.
Her proposal follows the proposal of the former president Donald Trump supports the idea of a US Bitcoin reserve at the Nashville conference. Trump said he would never sell any of the government’s 210,000 bitcoin holdings.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was also called to buy 500 bitcoins daily until a reserve of 4 million bitcoins is built up.
While Lummis admits it is unlikely her legislation will pass before the 2024 elections, she believes the growing political interest in Bitcoin Reserves reflects a paradigm shift. Bitcoin has become a major campaign issue, with both parties courting the emerging industry.
Lummis’ bill represents the most aggressive government adoption of Bitcoin yet proposed. While its prospects remain uncertain, the move would legitimize Bitcoin as an economic asset.
Lummis said she is “optimistic” that other bills related to Bitcoin could still pass this year as Bitcoin moves more into the political mainstream.