Senator Cynthia Lummis Proposes Legislation for U.S. Government to Accumulate 1 Million Bitcoin
Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) made waves at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville by announcing her plans to introduce legislation directing the U.S. government to accumulate 1 million Bitcoin, valued at over $68 billion at current prices. The bill would have the U.S. Treasury purchase Bitcoin over a 5-year period as a strategic reserve asset to fortify the dollar, similar to the government’s strategic petroleum reserve.
Lummis, a prominent Bitcoin advocate in Congress, believes that acquiring Bitcoin could be a game changer for the United States’ debt and deficits. She emphasized that the government would self-custody the Bitcoin across various geographic locations and the assets could only be used to pay down the national debt, with a minimum holding period of 20 years.
Former President Donald Trump also endorsed the idea of a U.S. Bitcoin reserve at the conference, stating that he would never sell any of the government’s 210,000 bitcoin holdings. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went even further, calling for the daily purchase of 500 bitcoins until accumulating a 4 million Bitcoin reserve.
While Lummis acknowledges that her legislation may not pass before the 2024 elections, she sees the growing political interest in Bitcoin reserves as a significant shift. Both parties are now actively courting the burgeoning industry, with Bitcoin becoming a major campaign issue.
Lummis’ bill represents the most aggressive government adoption of Bitcoin proposed to date, and while its prospects remain uncertain, it could legitimize Bitcoin as an economic asset. She remains optimistic that other Bitcoin-focused bills could still pass this year as Bitcoin gains traction in the political mainstream.
