Senator Cynthia Lummis suggested U.S. states may adopt Bitcoin reserves before the federal government.
According to reports, Senator Cynthia Lummis stated on February 28 during the Bitcoin Investor Week conference in New York that it is likely that states will embrace Bitcoin reserves before the federal government of the United States really does so.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Lummis provided the following statement: “My bets are that you’ll see a state have a Bitcoin strategic reserve before the federal government.”
In July of 2024, a Republican from Wyoming named Lummis introduced a piece of legislation that would mandate the establishment of a national Bitcoin stockpile by the federal government of the United States.
The United States Treasury Department would eventually acquire “a total stake of approximately 5% of total Bitcoin supply, mirroring the size and scope of gold reserves held by the United States,” as stated on Lummis’ website.
Her measure, which she has dubbed the BITCOIN Act, would require the Treasury Department to progressively gather one million Bitcoin to reach its ultimate goal.
Progress toward a Bitcoin reserve
Trump, the President of the United States, signed an executive order in January that required federal agencies to investigate whether or not it would be possible to establish a national Bitcoin stockpile. Trump took this move as one of the first actions of his second term, which began on January 20th.
During the month of February, President Trump signed yet another order that instructed the United States government to establish a sovereign wealth fund. This fund has the potential to acquire Bitcoin.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the countries that are purchasing Bitcoin. According to reports, Lummis made the following statement: “You are going to look at some of the sovereign wealth funds around the world who are not as tied up in a democratic republic as we are, and you will be able to just make it so.”
The Senate is currently waiting to vote on crypto reserve laws in 18 states in the United States. Additionally, two states, Arizona and Utah, are currently in the last phases of the approval process.
Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania are among the states that have rejected measures that would have allowed for the investment of cryptocurrency.
Although there is a possibility that some states that are led by Democrats would oppose Trump’s crypto-friendly posture, it is anticipated that other states will embrace crypto as a bipartisan subject.
There are so many states out there that are pro-crypto, and they don’t necessarily follow blue or red policies,” said Ashley Gunn, senior manager for US policy at Coinbase, during a panel discussion at ETHDenver on February 28.
CoinShares, a cryptocurrency researcher, stated in January that the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the United States will drive the adoption of Bitcoin even more than the debuts of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2024.
CoinShares stated that they believe the implementation of the Bitcoin Act in the United States would have a more significant and long-lasting impact on Bitcoin than the introduction of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) operating in the United States possess more than one hundred billion dollars’ worth of Bitcoin.
