U.S. citizens are backing a bill to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve following remarks from former President Donald Trump and Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis.
According to Bitcoin (BTC) proponent Dennis Porter, nearly 3,000 U.S. constituents requested Senatorial support for a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” bill.
Porter highlighted that Democratic Senators received the lion’s share of letters from Americans, about 1,746 in number. The petitions to co-sponsor are likely in response to and support of Senator Lummis’s crypto legislation.
BRREAKING: Nearly 3,000 letters sent to U.S. Senators asking them to co-sponsor the 'Strategic Bitcoin Reserve' bill – Democrats received 60% of the letters. pic.twitter.com/TLKO4EWWU9
— Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) August 5, 2024
Per crypto.news, Lummis announced the ‘‘Boosting Innovation Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act of 2024’’ or the BITCOIN Act. Lummis first disclosed the proposal at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, where the Wyoming Senator spoke on the same stage as Donald Trump.
Echoing Trump’s suggestion to retain America’s BTC stockpile, Lummis also proposed buying 200,000 BTC annually. The Senator’s bill set a total acquisition of 1 million tokens to ensure the U.S. remains a global crypto leader.
If Lummis and Trump have their way, America will bolster its position as the largest geopolitical BTC owner. The U.S. already boasts a trove of over 200,000 BTC valued at more than $11 billion. Indeed, America controls nearly 3% of all BTC in circulation. Most of the holdings originated from crackdowns on Silk Road and other darknet marketplaces.
Creating a strategic BTC reserve is still subject to Congressional approval and the outcome of this year’s presidential elections in November.
Although, there were speculations that the current administration disfavors the idea. Shortly after Trump’s Nashville speech, the U.S. government moved $2 billion in BTC to an unknown wallet.