In a recent conversation with FOX Business, Senator Cynthia Lummis shared her views on buying Bitcoin to reduce US debt.
Lummis remarked that Bitcoin serves as a long-term store of value. She expressed that it should be included in reserves as a strategic asset alongside gold and oil. The senator proposed that the U.S. should acquire approximately 200,000 BTC over the next 20 years, aiming to reach a total of 1 million BTC. She asserts that this accumulation could significantly reduce the country’s debt.
Lummis Suggests Selling Gold To Buy BTC
At a time when the government is looking to cut spending, Lummis emphasized that no new taxpayer dollars would be required to implement such a plan and explained that the U.S. government could avoid spending new taxpayer money by selling off its gold reserves, specifically the gold certificates currently held by Federal Reserve Banks.
Lummis pointed out that the U.S. government already holds over 200,000 Bitcoin through asset forfeiture funds, which further positions the nation to establish the reserve without any new expense. Interestingly, Lummis holds five BTC, which are managed within a blind trust.
She also highlighted that it’s very important to protect Bitcoin and people who hold their Bitcoins in individual wallets.
“We don’t want to see this asset become owned only by governments and certainly don’t want to see it controlled by governments because its great virtue is as a freedom money,” she underscored.
“A Pro-Bitcoin Cabinet”
“I’m thrilled that President Trump identified it as something that we should have the beachhead for in the United States,” she expressed noting that thus far under the current administration, efforts to regulate it through enforcement actions, penalties, and lawsuits have driven this industry into the arms of other countries including the European Union.
She also shared that President-elect Trump seems to be assembling a very pro-bitcoin cabinet. Lummis’s proposal has sparked significant debate among policymakers and market participants. Discussions over its feasibility and long-term effects of the proposal continue.