Yesterday, Senator Cynthia Lummis stepped up at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Washington, D.C., to drop a major proposal. She has written a detailed proposal for the U.S. to set up a BTC reserve.
Her plan? To make the U.S. dollar stronger against inflation and keep the U.S. at the front of global finance. Cynthia threw down some straight talk:
“Establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve would firmly secure the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency into the 21st century and ensure we remain the world leader in financial innovation.”
She pointed out the hard times folks are facing with high inflation and skyrocketing costs, saying it’s high time the U.S. banks on Bitcoin to secure a stable economic future.
America’s BTC strategy
Under Cynthia’s bill, the U.S. wouldn’t just hoard Bitcoin as a shiny new toy. This stash would be a full-blown strategy, locked down for 20 years, only to be used for chipping away at the national debt.
Cynthia is suggesting we treat BTC like we do gold or oil to keep the country running strong. The plan is to build a tight network of Bitcoin vaults run by the Treasury, with top-notch security to keep these digital assets safe.
Over time, the U.S. aims to buy up 1 million Bitcoins, which would work out to about 5% of all the Bitcoins out there. This mirrors how America handles its gold reserves.
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The money to buy all this Bitcoin? It’s coming from reshuffling existing funds in the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department.
Plus, Cynthia is all about keeping Bitcoin users’ rights intact, stressing that this big government Bitcoin play won’t mess with anyone’s personal Bitcoin stash.
The senator has been busy with crypto for a while. She’s been backing Bitcoin personally and professionally for years.
Last year, she teamed up on the Cynthia-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, to get crypto rules just right—tough on bad actors but supportive of innovation.
In her pitch, Cynthia said crypto is not the enemy. The real trouble comes from the shady folks in the space. She’s all for letting the tech grow but wants to make sure folks are protected while it happens.