Key Takeaways
- A future bill could expand and boost Donald Trump’s national Bitcoin reserve plans.
- Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed selling gold to fund the reserve.
- The President-elect’s views on the crypto industry have changed significantly over the past few years.
Cynthia Lummis, self-proclaimed “Bitcoin senator” and a close ally of Donald Trump, has suggested selling some of the government’s gold to fund the President-elect’s proposed Bitcoin stockpile.
The Republican Senator’s bill will help the U.S. acquire 1 million BTC without increasing its government deficit.
The cryptocurrency in question recently overtook silver to become the world’s eighth-largest asset.
Bitcoin Reserve
Senator Lummis first revealed her bold bill during the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July.
The move came shortly after Trump shared his goal of creating a Bitcoin reserve within the government.
The reserve would function similarly to traditional gold reserves, positioned as a hedge against inflation and as an alternative to fiat currency, which Trump argues is subject to devaluation due to policies like high government spending and “money printing” during crises.
Trump and his allies argue that holding Bitcoin could reduce the national debt in the long term, especially if Bitcoin’s value rises significantly.
Upon his first announcement of the reserve, the President-elect did not mention buying 1 million Bitcoin but instead said the government would hold 200,000 tokens it had already seized.
Selling Gold
The proposed bill from Lummis would see the government purchase one million additional Bitcoin over five years, representing 5% of the global total supply.
Talking to Bloomberg, Lummis said: “We already have the financial assets in the form of gold certificates to convert to Bitcoin. So the effect on the U.S. balance sheet is pretty neutral.”
The purchase would cost upwards of $90 billion at current market rates. However, if the bill passes, this price will more than likely increase as investors flock to buy the digital asset.
In the latest Federal Reserve balance sheet, the Treasury reported holding gold worth $11 billion. However, this price has been unchanged since 1973, so today’s prices would value the gold reserve at around $675 billion.
The bill would also involve establishing a “decentralized network of secure Bitcoin storage facilities” around the country.
“Establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve to bolster the U.S. dollar with a digital hard asset will secure our nation’s standing as the global financial leader for decades to come,” Lummis said.
Trump’s Crypto Promises
Trump has had a tumultuous journey with the crypto industry. In just 2021, the President-elect slammed Bitcoin as a “scam,” claiming he didn’t like it because “it’s another currency competing against the dollar.”
But Trump doubled down on his crypto views in the run-up to his second presidential victory, vowing to make America the “crypto capital of the world.”
Alongside a Bitcoin reserve, the President-elect voiced his intention to foster U.S. dominance in Bitcoin mining and vowed to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office.
Gensler has been a driving force in the SEC’s crackdown on crypto companies, with the majority of the sector believing he has been too aggressive in his enforcement actions.
Legal experts claim Trump will not have the power to fire Gensler directly. Instead, he could appoint a new commissioner to lead the SEC and pursue policies aligned with a pro-crypto agenda.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
