Senator Cynthia Lummis is championing the BITCOIN Act, a legislative proposal that will allow the USA to revalue its gold reserves at present market costs and use the ensuing surplus to broaden the nation’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR).
Treasury stance on bitcoin purchases
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just lately confirmed that the US won’t instantly buy bitcoin for its reserve, opting as an alternative to depend on property acquired by means of authorized seizures.
This methodology has drawn criticism for impeding the expansion of the SBR, as solely a portion of seized bitcoin is legally obtainable for presidency use.
On-chain knowledge signifies that simply 15% of the bitcoin in federal custody has been legally forfeited, with the remaining tied up in ongoing courtroom circumstances or potential returns to prior homeowners.
For up-to-date figures on federal bitcoin holdings, see the US authorities bitcoin holdings tracker.
Lummis’ plan to speed up reserve progress
Lummis argues that revaluing gold reserves presents a budget-neutral technique to improve the SBR with out rising the already substantial nationwide debt. She acknowledged:
“Scott Bessent is true: a budget-neutral path to constructing SBR is the best way. We can not save our nation from $37 trillion debt by buying extra Bitcoin, however we are able to revalue gold reserves to as we speak’s costs and switch the rise in worth to construct SBR. America wants the BITCOIN Act.”
This strategy would enable the Treasury to allocate the paper beneficial properties from gold revaluation to bitcoin, sidestepping the bottleneck created by authorized restrictions on seized property.
Legislative and coverage implications
Lummis has signaled readiness to collaborate with Treasury and Commerce officers to establish budget-neutral options for increasing the bitcoin reserve.
If enacted, the BITCOIN Act would symbolize a notable shift in US coverage—marking the primary time gold revaluation is used to fund strategic bitcoin holdings. This might bolster the nation’s place within the rising world race for bitcoin reserves.